Maybe It's Not So Bad
by clexia-chan
Summary: No one said junior year was a piece of cake. With unraveling family drama, unstable relationships, and quirky friends, Roxas and Ven are in for one heck of an interesting year.
1. Chapter 1

AN: First chapter! Woo! All Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix. I only own the plot. Huge thanks to the lovely Mipiko for being an awesome Beta. On to the story. . .

"Roxas? Ven?" Two blonde teenagers stuck their heads around the corner of an upstairs room. "I have to get going to work. Will you be okay to do your school shopping on your own?"

"We'll be fine, Dad. Will you be home for dinner?" asked Ven. Cloud sighed before running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry boys, but I won't get home until late at night." A small sigh escaped his lips before he could stop himself. "I really wanted to be able to eat as a family tonight. I was going to cook and everything, but my boss is being an ass about my work schedule," Cloud replied. He looked pleadingly at Roxas and Ven.

"If you tried to cook anything, we would no longer have a house. Remember last time?" Roxas asked.

Cloud flinched at his son's accusation before huffing in aggravation. "That was only once! And I didn't burn down the house, the walls in the kitchen just got a little dark . . . pasta is hard to make!"

Roxas' lips quirked upward slightly before he returned to being straight-faced. Ven snorted. "You made the stove explode in your attempt to boil the water for pasta. You are the only person I know that has actually managed to _burn_ water. I wonder what would have happened if you had put the noodles in . . ."

Cloud's jaw dropped open at Ven's retort. "That stove was ancient! It would have died soon anyway. If I had managed to put the noodles in before the damn thing broke we would have had-"

"Food poisoning?" Roxas retorted.

Cloud glared at Roxas' response. "No. We would have had-"

"World War III?" Asked Ven.

"No. . . We would have had-"

"A zombie apocalypse?" They both answered.

"No!" Cloud sighed in exasperation. "Never mind. I have to get to work. There's a shopping list of all your school supplies on the kitchen table. I've also left enough money for everything you need."

Roxas crossed his arms in front of his chest before responding. "Alright. You're still taking us to school tomorrow, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of missing the first day of your junior year of high school. Do you want a ride to the store?"

"No thanks, Dad. We'll walk. The store's just a block from here, so it shouldn't be too much trouble," Ven replied as he and Roxas walked down the stairs and into the living room. Cloud quickly hugged them goodbye and made his way out the front door.

Roxas went into the kitchen and returned with the shopping list and the money that Cloud had left them. "Hey, Ven. Looks like dad left us enough money for there to be a little extra after we get all our supplies. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ven grinned at his twin. "Chinese takeout for dinner!" They both left the house laughing.

~ Ten Minutes Later ~

Roxas and Ven entered the small store located near their house. Roxas grabbed a shopping basket as Ven led the way to the section that held school supplies. Ven looked over the shopping list before turning to Roxas. "It looks like the only things we need to get are pens, pencils, highlighters, post-its, binders, and college ruled paper. I guess we get our books in class."

"Seems like it. The paper and binders are right . . . Er, Ven? Why is that store employee darting up and down the aisles while humming the theme to 'Pink Panther'?" The two boys watched as the store employee pressed himself as close to the shelf as possible before he darted down their aisle.

Ven shrugged. "I don't know . . . Let's ask him!" He took off after the employee.

"Wait! Ven!" Roxas called before pushing their cart after his brother.

Ven tapped the store employee on the shoulder to get his attention. "Excuse me. My brother and I were wondering why you were darting around the aisles while humming the theme from 'Pink Panther'."

The employee laughed. "Well, there aren't very many people here today and I was bored. I would have asked Axel to keep me occupied but he's on register duty today. My name's Demyx by the way," he said offering a hand to Ven.

"Ven! Are you insane? You can't just go running up to random weirdoes!" Roxas exclaimed from beside his twin.

Ven turned to his brother with a small frown on his face. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say Rox. You shouldn't call someone weird when you don't even know them. You need to apologize to Demyx."

Demyx laughed and turned his attention to Roxas. "It's alright. Being 'normal' is overrated. Did you two need help finding something?"

Roxas gave a small smile. "I think we're okay. We were just getting supplies for school. I picked up everything we needed as we were coming over to talk to you."

Demyx grinned. "Awesome! That means you're ready to check out. Come on, I want to introduce you to Axel." Roxas and Ven followed Demyx to the front of the store where the registers were located. He led them over to register eight where a tall redhead was placing a price sticker on his forehead. "Hey, Axel! I found some people that I'd like you to meet. These are . . . er . . ."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at his friend's antics. "You forgot to ask them their names, didn't you?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Demyx scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Eh heh . . . Maybe . . ." He quickly turned his attention to Roxas and Ven. "So what _are_ your names?"

Ven grinned at Axel and Demyx before responding. "My name's Ventus, but I prefer to be called Ven. And this is my brother Roxas."

Axel nodded to each in turn as he scanned their items. "So you two are new? You're going to Oblivion High, right? What year are you in?"

Roxas handed over the money that Cloud had left for them. "Not that it's any of your business, but we're juniors. Can I have my change so we can leave?"

Axel laughed and handed over Roxas' change. "Feisty. I like it. And just so you know, Roxy," Axel paused and leant over the register to whisper in Roxas' ear, "I'm making it my business." Axel leaned back in his seat and winked at the now flustered blonde. Roxas glowered at him before snatching up his shopping bags and dragging Ven from the store.

Demyx watched the pair leave before turning to Axel. "You know, Axel, that was almost smooth."

Axel scoffed at his friend's statement. "What do you mean 'almost'? That _was_ smooth."

Demyx snickered. "No, it wasn't. It would have been if you didn't still have that price sticker on your forehead when you were trying to flirt with Roxas."

Axel's hand flew to his forehead and he peeled off the price sticker that _was_, indeed, still stuck to his skin. "Shit."

AN: Please take the polls on my profile page. The results will determine part of the plot for the rest of the story. I will remove the current poll on 2/02/12 and replace it with the second poll which will be removed on 2/09/12. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I had this done a while ago. I was waiting for it to be checked by my Betas. Yes, Betas. . . as in plural. This has been checked by the lovely candy3314. When/if I hear back from Mipiko, I will make any corrections she may find.**

**Big thanks to the following for reviewing the first chapter:**

**P5hng-Me-A'Wy**

**CoconutMigration**

**Candy3314**

**On to the story! Enjoy! **

~Back at the Strife Residence~

"You were awfully rude back there, Roxas. Axel seemed like a nice enough guy," said Ven. The twins were sitting in the kitchen, getting ready to eat.

Roxas looked up from fixing his plate. "He was annoying. Just because you get along with everyone you meet doesn't mean I do."

Ven threw Roxas a reproachful look. "I do not get along with _everyone_. Just because you thought Axel was annoying doesn't give you the right to be rude to him. He was just trying to be friendly. Besides, I think he _likes_ you."

Roxas flushed and handed the Chinese takeout container to his brother. "Fine. The next time we run into him, I'll apologize. Don't forget to leave some for Dad. You know he loves Chinese food. We don't want him blowing up the house or giving himself food poisoning."

Ven laughed before closing the container and placing it in the microwave. The twins made their way into the living room and ate their dinner in silence before washing their dishes and heading to bed.

~The Next Day~

Roxas and Ven were sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for Cloud to take them to school. Ven got up and grabbed a couple of apples from the fruit bowl on the counter. He tossed one to Roxas and they both turned and watched as their father stumbled down stairs. Cloud ran a hand through his hair making it stand up more than it normally did. "Morning. Are you both ready to go?"

Ven and Roxas looked at each other before turning their attention back to their father. "Er. . . Dad?" asked Ven. "Don't you think you should get dressed before we go anywhere? You're only in your boxers."

Roxas fought back his laughter. "Why are you wearing boxers with hot pink ponies all over them?"

Cloud looked down at his boxers and blushed. "Er. . . these were a gift from Yuffie," Cloud muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "Despite their more feminine appearance, they're actually really comfy." Roxas made his way into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for Cloud as Ven snickered and continued to poke fun at their father's choice in underwear.

Roxas returned to the living room and handed Cloud a fresh cup of coffee, which he took gratefully. "Seriously, Dad. You _are_ going to change before you take us to school, right?" asked Roxas. Cloud regarded his son carefully before answering.

"I don't know guys," he smirked at Roxas and Ven's horrified expressions. "After your comments last night on my cooking skills, and this morning's jabs at my boxers, maybe I should just drive you to school in these."

Ven opened his mouth to retort but Roxas beat him to it. "Go ahead and wear your pink pony covered underwear. It's _your_ pride that's going to be crushed. Ven and I have no reservations over claiming no relation to you. As far as anyone's concerned, you're a crazy person off his meds." Cloud huffed in mock anger before stomping back upstairs to get dressed.

~At School~

"Here we are, boys. I'm not going to be able to pick you up after school today so make sure you walk straight home," Cloud said as Ven and Roxas climbed out of the car. "If you have any problems don't hesitate to call my cell." Roxas and Ven stood on the curb and waved as their dad pulled away and drove off. The twins made their way towards the front doors of Oblivion High.

"I guess we should get our schedules now and start looking for our classes. Come on, Ven. Our schedules and books should be in the office," Roxas stated as he started to lead his brother inside.

"Hey look, there's Demyx and Axel! Maybe they can help us find the office and our classrooms," Ven said while waving frantically at the two seniors. Demyx was the first to notice the twins and made his way through the sparse groups of teens milling about the front of the school, dragging Axel behind him by his shirt collar.

"Hey Roxas, Ven. You two are probably looking for the office," Demyx said with a grin. "We are your self- appointed tour guides." Axel stared at his friend in shock for a few moments before Demyx noticed his friend's silence. "What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Demyx? He never uses big words like 'appointed'," Axel cried dramatically, while taking a not-so-subtle step away from Demyx. Demyx blinked and cocked his head to the side in confusion at his friend's antics.

"I am Demyx. . . aren't I? Unless my parents changed the name on my birth certificate without telling me!" Demyx started freaking out and quickly pulled out his cell phone and rapidly dialed a number. "Mom! You didn't change the name on my birth certificate, did you? Axel says I'm not Demyx anymore and-. . . No, I have not been sniffing markers!" At this point Axel was doubled over and holding his stomach from laughing.

Roxas turned his attention to Axel and raised an eyebrow. "Is he serious? He actually believes that he's not himself?"

Axel straightened up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh, he's being serious alright. Demyx is the most naïve person I have ever met. I think he was dropped too many times when he was a baby."

"No, Mom. I didn't eat the brownies you made for your book club," Demyx said before hanging up his phone with a pout. He turned angrily to Axel. "You lied! My parents didn't change my name. I'm still Demyx!"

Axel snorted. "I didn't mean it literally. It's something you say when someone does something out of character," he explained while tapping his index finger on his temple. "Got it memorized?"

Demyx's glare faded into a look of comprehension. "So you only said that because I used a word that I normally wouldn't use?"

"Exactly," Axel replied with a grin. "Where'd you learn a word like 'appointed' anyway?"

Demyx blushed lightly and started to fidget. "Well, Zexy got me one of those daily calendars. Each day has a new word. Today's word is 'appointed'."

Axel snickered softly. "You are so whipped."

Ven decided that this would be the best moment to speak up. "Um, guys? As amusing as this has been, it's 7:15 and class starts in fifteen minutes. Are you going to take us to the office so we can get our schedules?"

Axel's eyes widened slightly. "Shit! I completely forgot that we're supposed to be showing you around." He grabbed Roxas' hand and dragged him to the office with Demyx and Ven rushing to keep up with them.

~At the office~

Roxas jerked his hand free of Axel's hold as soon as they stopped in front of the office doors. "You pulled my arm out of my socket," he grumbled while massaging his shoulder.

Axel smirked and took a step closer to Roxas. "Did I? Well then, I guess I'll have to kiss it better."

Roxas glared at him before storming through the doors to the office. Axel went to follow him and ended up with the door slammed into his face. Demyx and Ven came around the corner to find Axel gingerly checking the damage to his face.

Demyx snickered at his best friend's misfortune. "Let me guess. You tried to make another move on Roxas and he turned you down?"

Axel sighed. "He slammed the office door in my face." Axel suddenly struck a determined pose. "But I'm not giving up. I _will_ get him to fall for me." Demyx started clapping enthusiastically to Axel's exclamation.

At that moment Roxas exited the office with both his and Ven's schedules. He glanced wearily at Axel before hurrying over to his brother. "Here, Ven. I picked up your schedule for you. The receptionist said that we can come get our textbooks at the end of the day so we won't have to carry them around with us."

Ven took the schedule that Roxas offered him and glanced over it. "These classes don't look too bad. Hey, Roxas? What's your schedule like?"

"We're taking all the same courses with all the same teachers, but we don't have any classes at the same time. We do have homeroom and lunch together though," replied Roxas as he and Ven made their way over to Demyx and Axel. "Demyx? Would you mind showing us where homeroom is?"

Demyx grinned at Roxas and Ven before looking at their schedules. "Sure! Axel and I will walk you to class. Our homeroom is right next to yours. We'll pick you up after and show you to your next class as well." He spun on his heel and started off down the hallway. "Walk this way!" he called behind him as he swung his hips in an over-exaggerated manner. Axel chuckled before following Demyx's example and began strutting down the hallway with a noticeable swing to his hips. Roxas and Ven eyed the two before calmly walking after them.

Demyx stopped in front of a classroom and turned his attention towards Ven and Roxas. "So this is your classroom. It looks like you guys have Mrs. Gainsborough for your homeroom teacher. She's one of the nicest teachers here. We'll be back to show you to your first period classes. Have fun~" He glomped the twins before dragging Axel into the classroom next to Ven and Roxas'. The Strife brothers continued to stare at the spot that Demyx and Axel had previously been standing in before walking into their classroom.

Mrs. Gainsborough looked up from her book as Roxas and Ven entered her classroom. "Hello. You two must be Cloud's boys," she said with a bright smile.

Ven smiled back at her. "Yes ma'am. I'm Ventus, but everyone calls me Ven. This is my brother, Roxas," he said while latching himself onto Roxas' arm.

Roxas gave Ven a strange look before turning his attention towards their teacher. "Hi. I hope you don't think I'm rude for asking, but how do you know our dad?"

"Cloud and I are old friends. We went to high school together. It's amazing how much you two look like him. You certainly inherited his unruly hair," she said with a giggle. "Class is about to start, so why don't you two go pick out your seats?"

Ven nodded and walked with Roxas to a couple of seats in the back of the class. Mrs. Gainsborough returned her attention to her book. She finished the page she was on before marking her spot and going to stand in front of the blackboard.

"Welcome everyone. I'm Mrs. Gainsborough, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year. Think of the hour you have with me as a study hall period. You're free to talk to your classmates or work on homework, just try not to get to loud or I'll take away the privilege of talking with your neighbors. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to come speak with me," she instructed before returning to her seat and continuing her book.

Ven took out a sheet of notebook paper and a pencil. "Hey, Rox. Wanna play tic-tac-toe? You can go first." Roxas shrugged before taking a pencil out of his bag and marking an X on the board that Ven had drawn.

~An hour later~

Ven and Roxas waved goodbye to Mrs. Gainsborough as they left the classroom. They noticed Demyx and Axel leaning against the wall. Demyx perked up when he saw the twins. "Hey, guys! How was homeroom? Isn't Mrs. Gainsborough awesome?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. She was really nice. It turns out that she and our dad were friends in high school."

Demyx grinned. "That's so cool! Well, we should get you guys to your next class. Why don't I go with-"

"I call dibs on Roxas!" Axel butted in before moving to glomp the blonde. Roxas quickly took a step to his left and Axel slammed into the row of lockers behind him. Axel sat up with a groan. "Roxy! Why'd you move? I could have ruined my beautiful face on those lockers!" he whined.

Roxas gave him an apathetic look. "I moved because I don't like being touchy feely with people I don't know well."

"But you let Demyx hug you. . . "Axel sniffed in mock sadness.

"I let Demyx hug me because I wasn't expecting it and he's not an annoying egomaniac," Roxas said with a shrug. Axel sat himself in the fetal position against the lockers. Roxas blinked in surprise at the depressing aura that Axel was exuding before pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Roxas sighed. "Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm also sorry about how I treated you at the store. I guess you're not _that_ annoying," he said quietly.

Axel sprung up from his spot on the floor and latched onto Roxas. "I knew you liked me!" he said happily as he rubbed his cheek against the top of Roxas' head.

Roxas' right eye twitched slightly. "You're an idiot. . ." he growled.

Axel released Roxas and smirked at him. "But I'm your idiot. You know you love me~" he sang happily.

"I _don't_ love you. I tolerate you," Roxas retorted.

"I'll take it! Well, I should probably get you to class. Let's see. . . you have chemistry with Professor Vexen. Let's go!" Axel grabbed Roxas' arm and led him down the hallway. Axel stopped abruptly in front of a classroom and turned to Roxas. "I won't be able to walk you to the rest of your classes because I'm on the other side if the school. Your next class after this is upstairs, third room on the right. I'll come get you after that because then it'll be time for lunch. I'll tell you where the rest of your classes are during lunch. See ya later, Roxy!" Axel darted off down the hallway, dodging between students who were rushing to get to class.

Roxas stared after him for a moment before shaking his head. "I have a feeling today's going to be a long day." He entered the classroom and took a seat at an empty table in the back of the class. A few seconds later a perky brunet sat next to him.

"Hi! My name's Sora. You're new here right? You don't look familiar but you're taking chemistry so you must be a sophomore or a junior."

Roxas turned his attention towards Sora. "Yeah, I'm new. My family just moved here so that's why you've never seen me before. My name's Roxas, I'm a junior."

Sora grinned brightly. "It's nice to meet you. Professor Vexen is an alright teacher. Just make sure you don't talk while he's explaining a lab, otherwise he'll kick you out and you'll get a zero for the assignment."

"You've had him before?" asked Roxas.

"I had him last year for biology. He's a bit scary but he only ever gets mad if you do something that could be dangerous," replied Sora. The two fell silent as their teacher entered the classroom and began going over the syllabus.

The bell rang and Roxas headed towards the door with Sora following behind him. "Hey, Roxas? What class do you have next?"

Roxas glanced at his schedule. "I have history with Mr. Xigbar. How about you?"

Sora grinned. "Same. Wanna sit together?"

"Sure," he replied as he opened the door to their next class. The two boys walked in and took two empty seats at the back of the classroom. Roxas looked towards the front of the room but didn't see their teacher anywhere. "Where do you think the teacher is?"

Sora looked around the classroom. "I don't know, but class was supposed to start five minutes ago."

Suddenly, a man who resembled a pirate strode into the room. "Alright little dudes. I'm Mr. Xigbar. I expect you to call me Mr. Xigbar, not 'Patchy', 'Mr. Pirate', 'Scar Face', or my personal favorite, 'What The Fuck Happened To Your Face'. I don't care what the fuck you do as long as you don't bug me for the next hour. Got it? Good." Mr. Xigbar took his seat, propped his feet on his desk, and promptly fell asleep.

Sora turned towards Roxas. "So, Twenty Questions?"

~Skip to lunch~

"Do you have anyone to eat lunch with, Roxas?" asked Sora as they left history class.

Roxas gave his new friend a small smile. "I do. I'm going to eat with my brother and a couple of friends. I'm sure they won't mind if you join us."

Sora nodded happily. "Yeah! I just need to find my cousin and I'll meet you in the cafeteria. If you follow the crowd you shouldn't have any problems finding the cafeteria," he said before being swept away by the rush of students.

Roxas felt a sudden weight on his shoulders and turned to see a grinning Axel. "Hey, Roxy. Demyx and Ven are saving us a table in the cafeteria," he said while ushering Roxas toward the quickly growing lunch line. "The line doesn't look too bad. It looks like they're serving pizza and sandwiches today." Roxas grimaced slightly as a kid walked by with a slice of grease soaked pizza. He was definitely going to get a sandwich.

After getting their lunch, Axel made his way over to the table where Demyx and Ven were sitting. Ven smiled happily as Roxas took a seat across from him. "Hey, Rox. How were your first two classes?"

Roxas shrugged. "They were alright. I had chemistry with Professor Vexen. We didn't do anything but go over the syllabus. After that, I had history with Mr. Xigbar. He showed up late and then slept through the entire period."

Ven was about to say something about Mr. Xigbar but suddenly glared at someone who was standing behind Roxas. "Heya, Roxas! I found my cousin. He decided to be a meanie and got lunch without me. I managed to track him down though," Sora said cheerfully before taking the seat next to Roxas that wasn't occupied by Axel. Sora turned to look at his cousin. "Don't be shy. There's a seat next to. . . Roxas' clone?" Sora's eyes widened and he quickly turned his attention to Roxas. "Oh my God! You didn't tell me you had a clone! I want one!" he shouted excitedly.

Ven's glare followed Sora's cousin as he made his way around the table. He sat in the empty seat next to the blonde that wasn't taken by Demyx. "You," Ven growled. Sora's cousin smirked.

**A/N: I will give the poll results in the next chapter. Please review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter! I only own the plot and my wild daydreams that involve KH characters. Thanks to candy3314 for being my beta and reviewing the last chapter. Thanks to my other reviewers: ADeadBlackRose, How Awkward This Must Be, Alex-Is-Elldisa, and P5hng-Me-A'Wy. Let the story commence!**

"You're not sitting here," Ven snarled at the figure seated next to him.

Roxas looked at his brother in shock while Sora turned a glare of his own towards his cousin. "What did you do, Vanitas?"

Vanitas gave his cousin a look of mock innocence. "Why Cousin, I have no idea what you're talking about. What makes you think I did anything?"

"Because I know what you're like. I don't think that Roxas' clone would-"

"My name is Ven," interjected the blonde.

Sora rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Right. I don't think that Ven would be so upset with you unless you did something. What did you do?"

"You have so little faith in me, Sora. It was just a little misunderstanding and-"

"The hell it was! " Ven interupted angrily. He turned towards Roxas and Sora. "You wanna know what he did? He shoved me into the classroom so he wouldn't be late for class. I landed with my face in some girl's lap, so she slapped me and called me a pervert. I think there were a few people who didn't hear her. . . on the other side of the world! Then, the only seat left was next to the bastard. The teacher gave us a pop quiz as a review of our math skills and this fucking idiot decides to cheat off of me. I have detention this Friday because of the worthless waste of space sitting next to me. The teacher's also going to call Dad, Roxas. What am I going to do?" Ven sniffed as he fought back tears of frustration at his predicament.

"Vanitas! How could you do something like that?" Sora shouted while attempting to slap his cousin upside the head. Vanitas rolled his eyes and scooted his chair back so he was even further out of Sora's reach.

Roxas sighed. "Ven, calm down. I have math next period so I'll see if I can talk to the teacher about what happened," he said rationally, while pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Roxas could feel the beginnings of a headache.

Sora sat back down in his seat with a huff of annoyance at not being able to reach his cousin, but then immediately perked up as an idea struck him. "Don't worry, Ven. If the teacher doesn't believe Roxas, I'll drag Vanitas to your teacher's classroom and make him tell the truth," he said with a bright grin.

Ven sniffed again and wiped at his wet eyes. "Really? How are you going to make him do that?"

Vanitas turned his attention toward his cousin. "Yeah, Sora. How are you going to do that?" he asked mockingly.

Sora gave Vanitas the most innocent look he could manage. "Well, Cousin dearest, If you refused to tell the truth about what happened, I'll have to resort to playing dirty. You remember last year, before the Winter Formal. . ." he let his sentence trail off and watched his cousin's expression change from cocky confidence to horror.

"You wouldn't dare," Vanitas growled out.

"Try me," Sora replied, narrowing his eyes in challenge.

"You swore we'd never speak of it. Besides, I burned all those photos." Vanitas crossed his arms over his chest in defiance.

"Really? I found the negatives for those photos in my mom's bedside drawer. I decided to have some prints made for my personal enjoyment. I may have sworn never to speak of it, but imagine the conclusion that the school will come up with after seeing those photos," Sora responded.

"I think you're bluffing. There's no way your mom kept those proofs," Vanitas said while narrowing his eyes.

Sora pulled his wallet out of his backpack. After a few seconds of rummaging through the assortment of old receipts that were stuffed in the wallet's folds, he produced a photo. "You still think I'm bluffing?" He smiled brightly and placed the photo face up on the table. Everyone leaned forward to see what the photo was of. Vanitas' eyes widened in horror and he quickly snatch the photo from the table, but the damage was done.

Demyx snickered before he burst into laughter. Ven tried to contain his own laughter but failed miserably when Demyx leaned on him for support. Roxas shook his head sadly at the two and turned his attention toward Vanitas. "Why were you wearing a dress?" Vanitas growled and started to tear up the photo, completely ignoring Roxas' question.

Sora snickered. "Well, my mom is really good at sewing. She likes to make clothes, especially dresses. Vanitas was staying with us around the time of Winter Formal and my old neighbor, Larxene, was having her dress made by my mom. Mom needed a mannequin and Vanitas was the only one able to model the dress for her because Larxene was always busy and I had the flu at the time," he said turning his attention towards Vanitas. "You don't think I'm stupid enough to only have made one copy, do you? You're not getting out of this." Ven and Demyx were gasping for air after their laughing fit at Vanitas' expense.

Vanitas glared at his cousin. "Fine. I'll come with you after school to tell the teacher that Blondie wasn't cheating."

Sora looked at Ven. "See? Problem solved. Well, sorta. The teacher's probably already called your dad, but after we explain everything I'm sure it'll all work out," he said, giving the blonde thumbs up in support.

Ven gave Sora a small smile. "I guess you're right. Thanks for getting Vanitas to do this. Dad would kill me if I got a detention in the first week of school."

Axel let out a low whistle. "Your dad's a real hard-ass, huh?" Roxas shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I have only one thing to say before we all have to get to class. Vanitas, you make a fucking ugly girl. I wouldn't mind seeing it on Roxy though," Axel said, directing a wink at the blond. Roxas sent a sharp glare at the red-head.

"You better start running," Vanitas growled. "I'm going to kill you, you fucking pyro!" Axel snickered and ran out of the cafeteria with a homicidal Vanitas on his tail.

Roxas stood from his seat. "I'm going to try and find my class, seeing as Axel never told me where the rest of my classes are."

"Math is on this floor. If you turn left after exiting the cafeteria, it'll be the fifth door on the right," replied Ven. "I'm not sure where the other classes are though, so you're on your own for that."

Roxas smiled at his brother and nodded. "Alright. At least I know where math is. I can always ask the teacher where my next room is. I'm going to wait until after school to talk to our math teacher about Vanitas so that we can do it together, alright Ven?"

"Yeah that's fine. See you later, Rox," he replied as his brother made his way towards the cafeteria doors.

"Bye, Roxy!" Demyx screamed after the retreating blonde.

~Roxas' Math Class~

Roxas made his way into the classroom and was stopped by his teacher. "Hey, didn't I already have you?" asked the teacher.

"No. You had my twin, Ven, earlier. I'm Roxas," replied the blonde.

"Ah. Sorry about that. I'm Mr. Leonheart, and welcome to math class," he replied as he ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment at his mistake.

"It's alright, Mr. Leonheart. A lot of people get us mixed up. Our dad even gets confused on occasion," Roxas said with a small smile.

Mr. Leonheart chuckled. "Your family sounds interesting. Why don't you take a seat next to . . . Mr. Slate?"

Roxas looked over towards the desk that Mr. Leonheart had indicated and saw a boy about his age with an emo fringe. He made his way over to the empty desk next to the reading teen. "Hello, my name's Roxas. What are you reading?"

"Zexion. I'm reading _Brisingr_ by Christopher Paolini," he replied without looking up from his page.

Roxas nodded. "I read _Eragon_ but haven't continued with the series. Is it interesting?"

Zexion dog-eared his page and closed his book and gave the blonde his full attention. "You're really interested in the series? Most people I know don't bother reading for fun. They think it's boring. People our age would rather be on MyPage or FaceSpace," he said while rolling his eyes.

Roxas chuckled a bit at Zexion's statement. "MySpace and Facebook," he corrected. "But yeah, I'm interested. Reading is better than spending all my time on the internet or being bored. So, do you think I should continue the series?"

Zexion nodded furiously. "Most definitely. I'll bring Eldest tomorrow so you can borrow it. I'll also let you borrow the others when I'm done with them, that way you won't have to go out and buy them."

"That would be awesome. I'll be sure to take good care of your books; I always try to return an item in the same condition as it was in when I borrowed it," Roxas commented. The two fell silent as Mr. Leonheart began writing on the board.

"Good afternoon class. Today will be pretty easy. You'll be having a quiz so that I can judge where I should begin teaching you. Everything on the quiz is what you should have learned in your math class last year. If I see the majority of the class struggling with anything, I'll do a class period of review. If you get a question wrong and we don't review it in class, come by after school to ask questions," he said as he started handing out the quizzes.

Roxas received his quiz and quickly looked over the questions before getting started. _This doesn't look too difficult._ _Question one. Write the formula for the Quadratic Equation and use it to factor the following polynomial. List all possible values of x: (x-3)(x__²__-2x-1)._

_So the Quadratic Equation is: x = (-b __± √(b² - 4ac))/ (2a ) . . . (x-3) is already factored out so x –3=0 . . . one value of x is 3 . . . the rest of the polynomial can't be factored without the Quadratic Equation . . . so __x = (-(-2) __± √(-2² - 4(1)(-1)))/ (2(1) ) . . . x = (2 ± √(4 – (-4)))/ (2 ) . . . this looks right so far . . . x = (2 ± √(8))/ (2 ) . . . x = __(2 ± √((4)(2))/ (2) . . . take the square root of four and cancel out the twos . . . x = __(2 ±2 √(2)/ (2) . . . x = (1 ± √(2)/ (1) . . . so the other possible values of x are x = 1+ √2 and x = 1- √2_

Roxas quickly put boxes around his answers and continued working on the rest of his quiz. He had just finished the last problem when the bell rang. Mr. Leonheart stood next to the door. "Alright class. Hand me your papers as you leave the classroom. You'll have your scores by Monday of next week. Have a good day," he said as the students made their way towards the door.

"Hey, Zexion? What class do you have next?" Roxas asked as the two teens left the room.

"I have Physical Education next with Mr. Strongarm," he replied with a groan.

Roxas gave his new friend a smile. "Cool. I have that class next too. Do you mind if we walk together?"

Zexion shook his head. "I don't mind. Roxas? Would you be my Physical Education partner? I'm afraid I'm not very good at sports and . . ." Zexion let his statement trail off.

"Sure. I'm not all that sporty myself so we can both suck together," Roxas said with a laugh.

Zexion gave him a small smile. "Come on. The gym is this way."

~In The Gym~

Zexion and Roxas entered the gym and settled themselves on the bleachers like the rest of the class. "So, Zexion? What do you thing Mr. Strongarm is going to be like?" asked Roxas.

"I'm not sure. I've never had him before," Zexion said with a shrug. "I just hope he isn't a really strict grader." The gym fell silent as a burly man with wavy hair walked in.

"I'm Lexaeus Strongarm. Today we'll go over the syllabus. You will also get your lockers and combination locks. Bring a set of Gym clothes tomorrow," he said quietly before reading the syllabus to the class. "I have only two more rules. One, do your best. If you try, you will get an A for this class. Two, respect your other classmates. That's all for today. You can talk amongst yourselves for the rest of the period."

The gym was filled with the buzz of conversation from the students. "Well, Mr. Strongarm seems nice enough. He doesn't talk much but I guess he doesn't need to for this class," Zexion said.

"The dude was ripped. I hope he doesn't have us do crazy workouts," replied Roxas. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow. What class do you have next, Zexion?"

"I have English next with Mr. Deckler. . ." he said, spacing out. Zexion shook his head to focus on his conversation with Roxas and not on his favorite subject. "What about you?"

"I have him too. What year are you, Zexion?"

"I'm a junior, but I'm taking mostly senior classes. It'll make senior year a lot less stressful. My schedule will be filled mostly with electives. I'm going to sign up as a TA next year. What about you, Roxas? What year are you?"

"I'm a junior too. I'm taking a lot of senior classes as well. Are you taking a second language?" replied Roxas.

Zexion shook his head. "No. I've already taken two years of Spanish. This school doesn't offer any language classes higher than Tier II. Have you taken a second language yet?"

Roxas nodded. "I took two years of French at my old school. I wanted to-" Roxas was cut off by the bell. "Never mind. Let's get to English." The two followed the rest of the class out of the gym.

~English Class~

The two teens walked into their class room and were brought into a bone crushing hug. "Zexy! Roxy! I didn't know you had Mr. Deckler this period! This is awesome!"

"Demyx . . . Can't . . . Breathe . . ." gasped out Roxas.

Demyx quickly released his two friends. "Oops. Sorry, Roxy. C'mon, there are two empty seats over by where I'm sitting." The two teens followed Demyx to the far side of the room and took the empty seats on either side of Demyx.

Roxas turned to face Demyx on his right. "So Zexion is the same Zexy that you were talking about this morning?"

Zexion blushed at the use of the nickname that Demyx had given him. "Please don't call me that," he muttered.

Demyx pouted. "Why not~? Zexy's a cute nickname. You're my Sexy Zexy!" he shouted. A few of their classmates turned their attention toward a blushing Zexion before returning to their conversations.

"Demyx!" Zexion hissed. "Would you be quiet?"

"But Zexy~ I give all of my friends nicknames," Demyx whined.

Zexion's visible eye twitched at the use of his nickname. "What nickname have you given Axel?"

Demyx fidgeted slightly in his seat. "Well. . . I haven't thought of one for him yet. But I will! I don't care what you say about your nickname, you'll always be my Sexy Zexy!" For all his complaining, Zexion couldn't hide the small quirk of his lips at Demyx's statement.

The class fell silent as a blonde man with a well trimmed beard and multiple piercings entered the room. "'Ello all. My name is Luxord Deckler and I'll be your English teacher this year. Please call me Mr. Deckler. I'll be straight with all of you; luck will get you nowhere in my class. I expect you to work hard. Your grades will reflect how much effort you put into this class." A few of the students groaned at the thought of doing work, to which Mr. Deckler chuckled. "Now that my expectations are known, who's up for a game of Poker?"

~Skip To The End Of The Day~

Roxas, Ven, Sora, and Vanitas were crowded around Mr. Leonheart's door. Ven raised his hand to knock on the door for the fifth time and lowered it once again. Roxas sighed in agitation. "Come on, Ven. You didn't really cheat on the quiz. It's not like Mr. Leonheart is going to bite your head off. Sora and I will be there to support you the whole time." Ven took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Mr. Leonheart's classroom.

"Come in," came Mr. Leonheart's muffled reply. Ven walked stiffly into the classroom with Roxas right behind him. Sora came in after them, dragging a reluctant Vanitas behind him. Mr. Leonheart looked up from grading the papers on his desk. "Hello boys. What brings you here?"

Ven nervously twisted the hem of his shirt around his fingers. "Well, sir, it's about my quiz. You confiscated it and gave me a detention for cheating. But I didn't cheat on that quiz. I-"

"I was the one who cheated," Vanitas interrupted. Mr. Leonheart looked between Ven and Vanitas.

"It seems I owe you an apology, Ventus. I jumped to conclusions and for that, I'm sorry. I've already torn up your quiz but I'd be happy to give you a makeup on Friday during detention hour. I'm one of the teachers in charge of detention so you'll have to do it there. I'm afraid I've already called your father. I was put through to his voicemail so I'm not sure if he received the message yet. If you can wait for a few minutes, I can call him back."

Mr. Leonheart picked up the phone that was resting next to his computer and dialed Cloud's cell number, which he had written on a sticky note. "Hello, Mr. Strife. This is Mr. Leonheart, Roxas and Ventus' math teacher. Please excuse the message I left earlier. There was a slight misunderstanding on my part and the issue has been resolved. Have a good day." Mr. Leonheart sighed as he hung up the phone. "I got your father's voicemail again. If he gives you any grief about this, let me know and I'll see what I can do to sort it out. As for you, Vanitas," he said, switching his attention to his raven haired student, "you will be serving detention with me this Friday. Your mother will be getting a call from me later this evening. You all best be on your way home before it gets too late. I'll see you in class tomorrow," he said before continuing to grade the quizzes on his desk.

"Thanks, Mr. Leonheart! You're the best! See you tomorrow!" Ven exclaimed before rushing out of the room with Roxas. Sora laughed and followed the twins, with a brooding Vanitas right behind him. None of the boys caught the faint smile that stretched across their teacher's face.

**A/N: Hated writing the math equation. Also as promised, the poll results: Leon won with 66% of the vote. Sephiroth will still be making an appearance. The winner of the second poll is Vanitas with 100% of the votes. I admit that I was biased on the second poll. I wanted Vanitas to win and it seems that the one person who voted agreed with me. Thanks for reading! Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is delayed for a number of reasons. 1) I had midterms. 2) I've been going through a hard time lately. 3) I had no inspiration so continuing was a bit difficult. I'm currently working on the next chapter, which will hopefully be up sooner. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: There is some strong language use (thus the M rating). The bold and italicized area is an excerpt that I took from **_**Eldest**_** by Christopher Paolini so all credit goes to him; I did not write that part myself.**

~That Friday~

Axel and Demyx were both lying on the school's lawn when Ven and Roxas showed up. Demyx flipped over onto his stomach as the twins approached. "Hey guys! So how did things go with your math teacher? Did Vanitas come clean? Did your dad get mad? Did-"

Axel placed his hand over Demyx's mouth. "Sorry about him. For some reason, his mom let him have sugar for breakfast," he said while shaking his head sadly. He quickly removed his hand from Demyx's face with a disgusted look on his face. "Dude! Did you just _lick_ me?"

Demyx grinned. "That's why you should never put your hand over someone's mouth," he said triumphantly.

"That is so gross." Axel wiped his hand on the lawn and sent a light glare at his mullhawked friend.

Demyx gave him a disbelieving look. "Oh please. You wouldn't think it was gross if it was Roxas who licked you. You would probably find it exhilaratingly erotic." Axel's expression softened and he quickly developed a dreamy expression at the thought of any kind of contact with Roxas. Roxas flushed and inched himself away from the now drooling Axel.

Ven hid his laughter behind his hand before turning his attention towards Demyx. "Is that your word of the day, Demyx? Exhilarating?"

Demyx nodded happily and stood. "Yeah. Zexy's really impressed that I've been using the calendar that he gave me. Here he comes now! Zexy~" sang Demyx as he flounced off to greet the slate-haired teen. The two conversed briefly before returning to their friends. Roxas saw Sora enter the school yard and waved him over.

" Roxas, I have something for you," Zexion said as he began shifted through his messenger bag. He pulled out a somewhat thick text. "Here, I brought you my copy of _Eldest_," he said quietly while offering the book to Roxas.

Roxas took the offered book and cradled it in his arms as if it was the most valuable text in the world. "Thanks, Zexion. I promise I'll take really good care of it," he said with a soft smile.

Demyx let out a high pitched squeal and wrapped his arms around Zexion's waist. This elicited a blush from the shorter teen. "That's so cute! Zexy's making friends~" cooed Demyx before kissing the slate-haired boy on the cheek.

Roxas blinked at the two. "Wait a minute. Are you two together?"

Axel suddenly popped up next to Roxas. "You barely realize that?" he asked while wiping drool from his mouth.

Roxas gave the red-head a disgusted look. "I thought they were just really good friends," he said with a shrug.

Demyx looked nervously at the blonde. "That doesn't bother you, does it Roxy?"

"Of course not," he replied, looking startled. "Love is love. Why should gender make a difference?"

Demyx let out a sigh of relief and grinned. "So, Roxy? Are you gay? Bi? Straight?"

"I don't really have a preference. I guess I would classify myself as pansexual. Gender doesn't really matter to me as long as I love the person," he said with a light blush.

"That's so cute~!" Demyx squealed.

Ven laughed at his brother's discomfort. "Hey, Sora? Where's your cousin?"

"Hm. I'm not sure. He texted me this morning and said he was coming in early, so we didn't walk together this morning," he said with a shrug.

Ven nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna head to class. See you all at lunch," he said with a wave. The rest of the group waved back.

Axel slung an arm around Roxas' shoulders. "Since you don't have a specific preference, that means I have a chance, right?"

Roxas let out a snort. "In your dreams," he stated as he shrugged Axel's arm off and followed his brother inside.

Axel stood stunned for a minute before shouting after Roxas. "Every night, Babe! Every night!" Zexion rolled his eyes, pecked Demyx on the cheek, and followed after the twins. Sora waved at the two remaining teens before also going inside.

"Way to be blunt, Ax," Demyx snickered.

Axel glared at his mullhawked friend. "Oh, shut up. He loves me; he just doesn't know it yet."

"Keep telling yourself that. C'mon, Casanova. We've got a class to get to," Demyx replied while patting Axel on the back.

~Homeroom~

Ven and Roxas sat in their seats at the back of the room. Roxas took _Eldest_ from his bag and started to read while Ven took out a piece of notebook paper and began doodling. "So, Ven. Why were you asking about Vanitas?" Roxas asked without looking up from the page he was reading.

Ven paused in his doodling. "I was just curious. He's been eating with us all week and it's unusual that he and Sora don't show up at school together." Roxas hummed and decided to let the subject drop for the moment. He had a feeling that his twin wasn't being completely honest with him. He gave his full attention to his book to keep from thinking too much about what he thought may be going on with his brother and Vanitas.

_**It was three days since the Varden and dwarves had fought the Urgals for possession of Tronjheim, the mile-high, conical city nestled in the center of Farthen D**__**û**__**r, but the battlefield was still strewn with carnage. The sheer number of bodies had stymied their attempts to bury the dead. In the distance, a mountainous fire glowed sullenly by Farthen D**__**û**__**r's wall where the Urgals were being burned. No burial or honored resting place for them. **_

_**Since waking to find his wounds healed by Angela, Eragon had tried three times to assist in the recovery effort. On each occasion he had been wracked by terrible pains that seemed to explode from his spine. The healers gave him various potions to drink. Arya and Angela said that he was perfectly sound. Nevertheless, he hurt. Nor could Saphira help, only share his pain as it rebounded across their mental link. **_

Roxas shut is book in disappointment after hearing the bell ring. He and Ven waved goodbye before they went their separate ways.

~Second Period~

Ven entered the classroom and took a seat by the window. Mr. Xigbar wasn't there yet and Ven had a feeling that he, as usual, would show up late. He let out a sigh as he looked out the window. As much as he hated to think about it, Roxas brought up some things about Vanitas that had him questioning his actions. Why had he been so curious about the raven-haired boy's whereabouts? He didn't even like Vanitas. So what was that constricting feeling in his chest? Was he coming down with something?

Ven's train of thought was interrupted when Mr. Xigbar barged into the classroom. "Alright you little fuckers. Shut your traps and pay attention. I hate to say this but in order to get paid; I actually have to teach you something about history. The year was 1492 when Captain Xehonart arrived in what we call Destiny Islands. He brought with him his wife, Maleficent, and half a dozen other ships that were jam-packed with people and rations. To make a long story short, Xehonart was a dictator that abused his power and was flogged by the people he ruled over. The end. Do whatever the hell you want for the rest of class." Mr. Xigbar propped his feet on his desk, leaned back in his chair, and fell asleep.

Ven could feel his eye twitch at how unorthodox Mr. Xigbar was. What was the school thinking when they hired the scarred and somewhat frightening man? He shook his head as the bell rang and headed for his next class.

~Math Class~

Ven was hurrying toward the classroom when he found himself sprawled on the floor after bumping into someone. He let out a soft groan of pain as he sat up. Someone chuckled above him. "Hey, sorry about that. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. You alright, little man?" Ven looked up into the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. The tall brunet chuckled softly and Ven could feel his face heating up. "Cat got your tongue? My name's Terra by the way," he said and extended a hand to the flustered blonde.

"Ven," he muttered, while taking the offered hand and getting up off of the cold linoleum floor. Terra grinned at him and Ven could feel his face heat up.

"Ven's a nice name," Terra replied as he gathered the blonde's notebooks off of the floor. "You have Mr. Leonheart next, right? I have him too. Would you mind walking with me to class?" Ven blinked at the hansom brunet before nodding shyly and the two headed to class.

Terra entered the classroom first and took a seat near the front. He placed Ven's materials on the desk next to his and shot a grin at the still flustered blonde. Ven took the hint and sat next to Terra, completely unaware of the glare that was directed at his new friend.

The class fell silent as Mr. Leonheart entered the classroom. "Good morning, class. Please take your seats so that class can start. I'm almost done grading you quiz from earlier this week, so you'll be getting them back after the weekend. Now then, I'm not sure whether your previous teacher has told you or not, but Open House is next Wednesday," he said as he passed out fliers to advertise the event. "This is a very important function as it allows the parents and teachers to meet and discuss your progress. It is not, however, mandatory." A few of the students let out sighs of relief. "I'll be offering extra credit to those of you who do attend. I strongly suggest you come as it could bump up your grade in this class." There was a bit of excited chatter at the thought of extra credit. "Now that the announcements are out of the way, let's continue with class. Today we'll be reviewing factoring and polynomials." The class groaned.

The bell rang to signal lunch. "Ven, Vanitas. I'd like to speak with you for a minute please." Ven turned at the mention of his name and made his way to Mr. Leonheart's desk. Ven could barely hold in a gasp when he looked at Vanitas. The raven-haired teen looked terrible; his hair was dull and the usual spikes were drooping, he had shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep, and Ven was just now noticing how pale and drawn out Vanitas looked. Mr. Leonheart cleared his throat before speaking to the two teens. "Ven, I wanted to remind you that you'll be taking your make-up quiz in the detention room today. Vanitas, you'll also be in the detention room after school." After both teens confirmed that they would be there, Mr. Leonheart dismissed them for lunch.

Both teens left the room, and just as Vanitas made to leave, Ven grabbed his arm. "Aren't you going to eat lunch? The cafeteria's the other way," Ven asked.

Vanitas roughly yanked his arm out of Ven's grasp. "I'm not hungry," he muttered.

Ven placed his hand on the raven-haired boy's shoulder, completely unperturbed by his reaction. "Are you feeling alright? You look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office and-"

Vanitas jerked away from Ven's hand with an enraged expression on his face. "Mind your own fucking business," he growled before running off towards the gym. Ven looked after Vanitas with a hurt expression before heading off to his English classroom. He wasn't very hungry anymore.

Ven sat on the floor and leaned against the wall in thought. _What got his boxers in a bunch? I was only trying to be nice and he goes and yells at me. Well, fine. If he wants to be a jerk, then I won't bother worrying about him. Wait. . . I wasn't worried . . . was I? Why would I? He's been nothing but rude to me and my friends . . . so why does my chest feel so tight and achy?_ He clutched the fabric of his shirt over the area where his heart was as the bell rang. Ven sighed before standing up and going into class.

~Skip To After School~

Ven and Vanitas arrived at the door to the detention room at the same time. Ven averted his eyes as he thought about their small fiasco at lunch and Vanitas hurried into the room. Ven sighed and went in after him. He spotted Mr. Leonheart sitting on one of the desks and went over to him to get his quiz.

Mr. Leonheart smiled and handed Ven his quiz. "This one is a different version of what you were given in class on Monday. The problems are different but the type of questions and the number of questions are the same. Detention ends in an hour so you have until then to finish. If you finish early you're free to leave," he said. Ven nodded and took a seat at a desk in the front of the classroom before looking at the first question.

_What is the basic function of a linear graph? Label the variables._

_Alright, the basic function of a linear graph is Y = mx + b where b is all real numbers . . . m = the slope of the line and b = the y – intercept . . . that was easy enough. On to question two._

_Given the points (2, 4) and (1, 6), find the slope and y – intercept of the linear function that passes through those points. Using the slope and y – intercept, write the equation for the line that passes through the two points._

_Okay, the slope is defined by the difference of y over the difference of x. So (6 - 4) / (1 - 2) = (2) / (-1) = -2_

_m = -2 Now for the y – intercept . . . Replace the variables with one set of points and the slope . . . _

_6 = (-2) (1) + b . . . 6 = -2 + b . . . b = 8 . . . Then double check with the other set of points . . . _

_4 = (-2) (2) + b . . . 4 = -4 + b . . . b = 8 . . . So the equation is y = -2x + 8_

Ven continued to work on his quiz for the rest of the hour. When he was satisfied that he had answered all of the questions to the best of his ability he handed his quiz to Mr. Leonheart and packed away his notebook and pencil. The rest of the students packed up their things and rushed out of detention. Mr. Leonheart gave Ven a short wave and reassured him that he would have his results on Monday before leaving.

Ven was about to leave when he found himself pinned to the wall. He looked up and blue locked with amber.

"Vanitas?" Ven gasped out in shock at their close proximity before being silenced by the raven-haired teen.

**A/N: Yes, I left a cliffy. Maybe it will get you all to review? Big thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter: ADeadBlackRose and P5ing-Me-A'Wy You two were my main inspiration for me to get this chapter out! =w=b**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So this hasn't been checked by my beta yet. I felt bad about not getting this out for whoever has been waiting for it, so I'm putting it up now and will fix any problems after I get a response. I'm very sorry it's taken me so long and I will try to do better after I'm done with finals. For now, I hope you enjoy. **

Ven let out a groan as he flopped down face-first on his bed. He flipped over onto his back and thought about what had happened only an hour earlier.

_Ven was about to leave when he found himself pinned to the wall. He looked up and blue locked with amber. "Vanitas?" Ven gasped out in shock at their close proximity before being silenced by the raven-haired teen._

_Ven stared cross-eyed at the finger that was placed over his lips before glaring at Vanitas. The raven-haired teen released a sigh. "Just- just let me talk for a minute, alright? If you still want to yell at me after I've said what I have to say, then fine. But please. . ." he trailed off, looking anywhere but at Ven. Ven's glare lessened and he nodded to let Vanitas know that he would listen. Vanitas released Ven and ran a shaky hand through his hair._

"_I'm sorry. For getting you in trouble by cheating off your quiz, and for how I treated you earlier today. I've been having a difficult time lately and I took it out on you. I shouldn't have. It's just-", he took in a shaky breath and sat heavily on the floor with his back propped against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. Ven looked at Vanitas, slightly worried by his actions, and sat next to him on the floor._

_Vanitas let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "My mom's not very happy with me. It's not even about the quiz. Little insignificant things make her so upset. She- she's been drinking a lot lately and that only makes things worse," he paused and unconscientiously rubbed his arm. Ven narrowed his eyes at the action and before Vanitas could stop him, lifted the sleeve of the raven-haired teen's black t-shirt. Ven's eyes widened. There were five dark finger-like bruises marring Vanitas' skin. Vanitas tugged the sleeve of his shirt back down over the marks before hugging his knees tighter. His entire body was trembling._

"_Vanitas . . . did your mom . . . did she make those?" Ven asked in a whisper. Vanitas' head shot up and it was only then that Ven realized he had been crying. Tears continued to run down Vanitas' face at a steady pace and Ven did the only thing he could think of; he embraced the crying boy. Vanitas' crying intensified and Ven rocked him side to side, hoping that his sobs would quiet down. Vanitas clutched onto Ven's shirt and continued sobbing for another few minutes before quieting. Ven had thought the raven-haired teen had fallen asleep when Vanitas finally pulled away from him. _

"_Y-you can't tell anyone," he mumbled hoarsely. He locked eyes with Ven before continuing. "Please? Promise me you won't tell anyone. Especially not Sora. He worries too much about other people and he doesn't need to be bothered by this. This is the first time she's ever hurt me. If it happens again, I'll find somewhere else to stay," he pleaded. _

_Ven gave him an uncertain look before tentatively nodding his head. "This is the first time. If I find out it's happened again, I won't keep it a secret," he told Vanitas sternly. Vanitas gave a relieved smile and nodded his understanding. He stood and helped Ven up and the two made their way from the room._

Ven let out a troubled sigh. He had never seen Vanitas in such a vulnerable state before. Just thinking about it caused a dull throb to start in his chest. He rubbed the spot in an attempt to make the ache fade and resolved to push their interaction to the back of his mind. He rolled over onto his side and fell into a fitful sleep, plagued with dreams that involved the raven-haired teen.

~The Next Day~

Ven was sitting in the kitchen, contemplating what he wanted to do for the day. Roxas was going to the library to continue reading his book in peace, and while Ven enjoyed reading, he didn't feel like being cooped up inside on such a nice day. He continued to ponder for a few more minutes before finally deciding to go to the park near the house. His dad had gotten home late last night so Ven left a note saying where he would be before grabbing a bottle of water and leaving the house.

Ven made his way through the park at a leisurely pace. He had stopped to watch two small children playing with what he assumed to be their dog, when he heard a shout and something slammed into the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. He groaned as he sat up and felt something wet run over his upper lip. He sniffed and tasted copper In the back of his throat. Cursing his luck, Ven tilted his head back in an attempt to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

Pounding footsteps come from behind Ven and he turned to see who it was. He felt his face heat up when he saw a slightly sweaty Terra looking at him with an expression of mixed concern and surprise. "Ven? Oh my God, I am so sorry. Seifer threw the ball way too hard and I wasn't fast enough to catch it. Are you alright?" Terra asked. It was then that Ven noticed a basketball lying near him and a group of people on the basketball court. He turned his attention back to Terra, whose eyes had widened at seeing the blood that was still flowing from his nose.

Terra turned his head angrily and shouted toward the basketball court. "Seifer, you ass! You gave him a bloody nose!" He turned back to Ven with an apologetic expression on his face. He stood and helped him up before taking his free hand and leading him over to the court and sitting him down on a bench. Terra dug around in his bag and pulled out a washrag. Returning to Ven, he removed the blonde's hand that was pinching his nose and replaced it with the washcloth.

Seifer looked down at Ven. "Hey, you alright, blondie?"

"Yeah, the bleedings slowed down," Ven said, flushing at the nasally sound of his voice.

Terra chuckled. "Well, guys. I'm going to call game over for today." The other guys on the court bade Terra goodbye and headed their separate ways, leaving him and Ven alone. Terra turned his attention back toward Ven and removed the washcloth to find that the bleeding had stopped. He wet a clean area of the cloth with water from his water bottle and began wiping away the dried blood from Ven's face, causing Ven's blush to darken.

Terra washed out the soiled cloth as best he could before wrapping it in a towel and placing it in his bag. He turned to Ven with a grin. "Want to go get some ice cream before I walk you home? My treat?" Ven perked up slightly and agreed shyly before standing and walking with Terra towards the ice cream stall that was located in the center of the park.

"What flavor of ice cream do you want, Ven?" asked Terra. Ven looked at the board that listed the ice cream flavors.

"Um. . . vanilla?" he asked quietly. Terra chuckled at his hesitation before asking the ice cream man for one vanilla ice cream and one sea salt ice cream. Terra paid for their ice cream and handed the vanilla cone to Ven before taking a large bite of his own ice cream.

Ven gave a disgusted look that didn't go unnoticed by Terra who raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked as they began walking towards the Strife residence.

"How can you possibly like that?" Ven asked with a disturbed look at the blue ice cream.

Terra chuckled. "Have you ever tried it before?"

Ven wrinkled his nose. "Yes. Roxas made me try it. He liked it, I didn't," he said with a shrug before starting on his own ice cream. They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked to Ven's house. Both teens had finished their ice cream by the time they arrived at the door and Ven stood awkwardly beside Terra. "Well, thank you for helping me, for the ice cream, and for walking me home," Ven said quietly before turning towards the door to go inside. He was stopped by Terra grabbing his arm.

Turning to question Terra, Ven found his lips captured in a kiss. One of Terra's hands cupped the side of Ven's face while his other hand rested lightly on Ven's shoulder. Terra's thumb ran over Ven's cheek in an attempt to get him to respond and Ven relaxed into the kiss. He gasped when Terra nipped his bottom lip and the brunet took the chance to briefly explore the blonde's mouth. Ven tasted a hint of sea salt ice cream before Terra ended the kiss.

Terra chuckled softly at Ven's dazed expression. "You're cute," he murmured before walking back towards the park. Ven went into the house in a state of mild shock and leaned his back against the front door. He touched his lips with his index and middle finger and grinned. _Maybe sea salt ice cream isn't so bad after all._

~Sunday Morning~

Roxas and Ven were eating a breakfast of chocolate chip waffles in the kitchen. Roxas noticed his brother's unusually happy mood and put down his knife and fork. "Ven, you seem happier than usual. Did something happen yesterday?"

Ven blushed. "Have you ever met a guy named Terra at school?"

"I think he's in one of my classes. What about him?" asked Roxas before taking a sip of milk.

"He. . . er, he sort of kissed me yesterday," Ven said nervously.

Roxas choked and stared at his brother for a moment in shock. "Did you like it?"

Ven blushed a bit more and looked down at his plate. "Yeah, I did. Does that bother you?"

Roxas thought about it for a moment before answering. "It doesn't. As long as he didn't force himself on you, then I'm happy," he said with a soft smile.

Ven looked up and gave a relieved smile before finishing his waffle. "So, where are we meeting everyone at?" he asked while putting both his and Roxas' plate in the sink.

"We're meeting at a diner in town. It's only nine right now and we're supposed to meet them at one, so what do you want to do until then?"

Ven rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmm. . . we could watch a movie?"

Roxas nodded. "Alright, what to watch. . ."

They both looked at each other with grins. "Repo!" They laughed and raced into the living room to start their gore fest.

~A Few Hours Later At The Diner~

Ven and Roxas sat on the faux leather seat of a booth. The bell above the door tinkled as a new customer came in. "Roxy~! Ven~!" The twins turned toward the front of the diner and saw Sora waving frantically at them while he dragged a grumpy looking Vanitas behind him. Sora plopped himself down next to Roxas, leaving Vanitas to take a seat next to Ven. "Afternoon," Sora chirped. "Axel, Demyx, and Zexion aren't here yet?"

Roxas was about to respond when something smacked into the window, startling him. The four boys turned to see Axel's face pressed against the window in such a way that there were sure to be smudges. Roxas clutched his chest and threw Axel a glare as his heart rate returned to its original pace. Axel grinned at him before rushing towards the door. Demyx and Zexion gave Roxas an apologetic look before following after Axel.

The bell tinkled violently as the three entered the diner. Axel appeared on Sora and Roxas' side of the booth and gave Sora a pleading look. The brunet raised an eyebrow and got up so the red-head could sit next to Roxas. Sora took a seat on the outer edge of the booth. Ven and Vanitas scooted farther into the center of the booth to make room for Demyx and Zexion.

The group of teens chatted and looked at the menu as they waited for their waiter to arrive and take their orders. "Hello, my name is Riku and I'll be your server today. Does everyone know what they'd like to have?"

Sora gaped in awe at their silver haired server as everyone else ordered. Axel cleared his throat. "I'd like a burger and a coke. I think Sora here would prefer a piece of you over the food," he said with a smirk. Sora gasped and turned to hit him only to find that Axel was already holding his head in pain. "Roxy~! That hurt~!" he whined.

Roxas shot him a glare. "You deserved it. What you said was completely unneeded," he said with a sniff of disdain.

Riku chuckled, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "If you want me, I'm afraid you'll have to take the whole thing," he teased. Sora blushed in embarrassment and sunk lower in his seat. "So what can I get you, Sora?" Sora mumbled his order and Riku recited what everyone wanted to make sure he got their orders correct. "Your orders will be ready shortly," he said before returning to the kitchen.

Sora groaned and let his head hit the table with an audible smack. "At least he didn't find out the same way that I found out about Demyx's feelings for me, "Zexion said quietly.

Sora rested his chin on the table and looked at Zexion with a pitiful expression. "How'd you find out about Demyx?"

"May I?" Zexion asked his mullhawked boyfriend. Demyx blushed but nodded his consent anyway. "Demyx fell asleep in class and had an erotic dream. He ended up moaning my name quite loudly. I ended up walking him home from the detention he received for disrupting class. Our personalities fit and we've been together ever since. Don't worry too much about what happened with Riku."

"I know it could be worse but that doesn't make me feel any less embarrassed," Sore said with a sigh.

Vanitas huffed. "You really don't have any reason to be worried. It's obvious that Riku likes you back; he wouldn't have responded the way that he did otherwise." Sora blinked in surprise at Vanitas' attempt at reassuring him. He was about to question his cousin's sanity when Riku and two other servers arrived with the group's food.

"Enjoy your food," Riku said with a smile before he and the other two waiters returned to the kitchen. The group ate at a leisurely pace and chatted about their classes and other things that were going on.

Vanitas stopped eating for a moment and looked at Ven. Ven noticed Vanitas' stare and looked at him questioningly. Vanitas swiped his thumb over the corner of the blonde's mouth before licking it. Ven blushed darkly and sputtered in embarrassment the rest or the group fell into silence to stare at the two. "There was a bit of ketchup," Vanitas said with a shrug before he went back to eating. The rest of the group snickered at Ven's reaction before continuing with their lunch.

As everyone was finishing up Riku returned with their check. "I hope you all enjoyed your meal. Your total today is $7500," he said with a bright grin. The group looked at him in shock at the price. "However," he continued while looking at Sora, "I'm willing to knock off those two zeros in exchange for a date with Sora."

Sora's eyes widened and he blushed. "You want to take me out on a date?" he asked in surprise.

Riku chuckled. "Yeah. I saw you come in and I thought you were cute. I was lucky enough to get assigned to your table and after that comment that the red-head made, I figured that I should try my luck." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I'd love to," Sora said with a bright smile.

Riku grinned. "Awesome. I'm covering for one of my coworkers today and I'm starting a new school tomorrow. Can you drop by next Saturday? My shift ends at two." Sora nodded happily at Riku's suggestion before the silver haired teen turned his attention back to the group as a whole. "So your actual total is $75," he told them. The group pooled their money together and paid the bill before bidding Riku goodbye and exiting the diner. Everyone said their goodbyes before heading toward their individual homes.

**A/N: And there it is. If anyone noticed any issues in this chapter feel free to leave a review and I'll see about fixing it, and even if you didn't, please review anyway. Big thanks to EmotionalDisaster666 for reviewing chapter 4. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know it's been a while since I've updated. A family member of mine was in the hospital so I've been quite busy dealing with that. To try and make up for my lateness, I'm giving you a longer chapter than usual as well as a sneak preview at the end. As always, thanks to my reviewers: P5hng-Me-A'Wy and fallenofthedark. Enjoy, and please review. **

Monday came sooner than anyone wanted it to. Everyone was milling about in the halls as they waited for the bell to ring. The light conversation that was going on with the twins and their friends came to a halt at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Welcome to Hollow Bastion High. We hope you enjoy it here. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to come to the office for help. Or you can always ask any of the teachers or other students," the school's receptionist said with a bright smile.

"Yes, thank you. We'll be sure to do that if we have any trouble." Sora was the first to react to the appearance of the familiar silver-haired teen.

"Riku?" Said teen turned at the use of his name and his eyes widened in surprise as his gaze landed on the group that he had served not even a day ago. He soon broke into a grin and trotted over to where Sora and the others were standing.

"Sora! I didn't know you came here. Small world," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting to see you again until the weekend," Sora replied as he fiddled nervously with the strap of his messenger bag.

"So, this is him?" Everyone turned their attention toward one of the three other silver- haired teens that were standing with Riku.

Riku threw a sharp look at him before turning back to Sora and the others with a sigh. "These are my older brothers; Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. They're fraternal triplets." Each of Riku's brothers nodded as their name was mentioned.

Kadaj rested his arm on Riku's shoulder and flicked him on the forehead with hid free hand. "You know, Ri-Ri, it's not polite to ignore someone when they ask you a question." Riku flushed angrily at the use of the nickname that his brothers had given him. Kadaj removed himself from Riku's person and re-asked his question. "Sora's the cutie you've been fangirling over, right?" He let his gaze slowly travel over the brunets physique, causing an embarrassed blush to stain Sora's cheeks. "Hm, he's cute. But I think I prefer," Kadaj's gaze flickered over to Roxas, "blondes."

Axel glared at Kadaj and placed a protective arm around Roxas' shoulders. Roxas tensed at the contact but, for once, didn't push him away. Kadaj raised an eyebrow at the display. "Interesting," he muttered before redirecting his attention to Riku. "We'll be waiting afterschool in the parking lot. Don't dawdle or I'll leave without you." With that, the triplets turned and walked off down the hall.

Riku let out a sigh. "Sorry about Kadaj. He can be a bit overwhelming."

Axel gave him a pointed look. "A bit?"

Roxas let out a chough. "You can let go now," he muttered with a faint blush staining his cheeks. Axel quickly removed his arm and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. The tension was broken by the bell and everyone headed off to homeroom.

**~Skip to First Period~**

Ven was lost in his thoughts when the door to the classroom violently slammed into the wall. The class immediately fell silent as Mr. Xigbar stormed in, shouting angrily into his cell phone.

"No, you listen to me you backstabbing weasel! You owe me 5K and it should have been wired to my bank account last week!" There was a pause as the person on the other end of the line said something. "Bullshit! You owe me 5K and now that it's late, you owe me interest too! I'll make this simple for you. Have the 5K plus 5% interest in my account by tomorrow or you'll be getting a visit from me." Mr. Xigbar's visible eye twitched at whatever response he received. "I don't give a flying fuck on Uranus about your Godamn 'problems'! Have it done or I'll shove an AK47 so far down your throat that you'll be shitting bullets for the rest of your miserable life! Got it?" He violently stabbed the 'end' button on his phone and turned to face his stunned class. "Free period," he growled before slouching into the seat at his desk. Ven stared out the window until the bell rang to signal the end of the period.

He grabbed his backpack and was one of the first to make it out the door. He noticed Vanitas walking up ahead of him and was about to call out to the raven-haired teen when an arm was slung around his shoulders.

"Hey, Babe." Ven looked up at the owner of the arm only to blush when he realized it was Terra.

"H-hi, Terra."

Terra chuckled. "You're too cute. So, I realized that I kind of left a few things up in the air after what happened this weekend and I wanted to clear things up. I _really_ like you, Ven. I'd like to be your boyfriend."

Ven blinked at Terra in surprise. "O-ok."

"Great!" Terra exclaimed with a grin and he continued to walk with Ven to Mr. Leonheart's class. As they reached the door, he suddenly pulled a surprised Ven into a searing kiss. At that exact same moment, Vanitas happened to reach the classroom. He stared at the two for a moment before angrily pushing past them.

Ven pulled out of Terra's grasp and looked at him with a startled expression. The brunet rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"It's ok," Ven muttered before he too went into the classroom. Ven was about to move toward where Vanitas was sitting at the back of the class but was stopped by Terra who grabbed his hand and nodded to two seats more towards the front of the class. Ven looked back at Vanitas who was pointedly looking anywhere but at him and Terra, and took one of the two empty seats at the front. Terra grinned for the entirety of class while Vanitas glared at him from the back of the classroom, willing his head to explode.

**~Lunch~**

Terra was about to lead Ven to a table of his friends when the blonde slipped his hand out of his boyfriend's grip. "I wanted to eat lunch with my brother and our friends," Ven explained. Terra shrugged and continued on his way toward his own friends. Ven walked over to the table that his brother and their friends were occupying and took an empty seat next to Vanitas.

Vanitas looked at him. "So, you and Terra?" Ven blushed and nodded his confirmation at Vanitas' implied question.

Axel whistled. "Damn, Kid. He's one of the most wanted guys at school."

Roxas scoffed. "If he's so hot and if you like him so much, then why don't you ask him out?"

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Roxy," the red-head teased. Roxas stabbed his fork violently into the salad that he had chosen for lunch as he glared at Axel. "To answer your question, I'm already into someone else," he murmured, not taking his eyes off of a now blushing Roxas. "Besides, I don't go for dominant guys."

"Whatever," Roxas muttered and shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth.

**~After School At The Strife Residence~**

"Hey, Roxas? Can I ask you something?"

Roxas looked at Ven for a moment before returning his attention to his chemistry book. "You just did."

Ven rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"So what did you want to ask?"

"Do you hate Axel? You always seem to be mad at him but really, Rox, he's a nice guy."

Roxas blinked at his brother and shut his textbook. "I don't _hate_ him. He's just. . . I don't know. He confuses me. I know he's a nice guy but sometimes he just really pushes the wrong buttons. He comes on really strong and, to be honest, that scares me a bit."

Ven looked up from his math notes. "I guess. He really likes you, you know. Maybe even loves you. Would giving him a chance really be such a bad thing?"

"I just- I don't want to end up like Dad. He thought he found love, but look how it turned out. He broke, Ven. Dad cried for that first month and he-he never cries," Roxas took a shaky breath and willed the burning sensation in his throat to disappear. "T-then he got real quiet. H-he wouldn't talk to anyone. It took him months to go back to normal! Dad's a strong person, Ven, but me? What if I can't be fixed after I'm broken? I c-can't . . . I just. . . c-can't!" The earlier burning of his throat had only intensified as he continued and by the end of his rant, Roxas was sobbing as Ven rocked him back and forth in an attempt to calm him down.

"Sh. It's alright, Rox, it's alright. I'm sorry I brought it up. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, alright?" Roxas removed his head from Ven's shoulder and wiped violently at his eyes before nodding slowly and making a halfhearted attempt to finish his chemistry homework.

**~Skip to the Parent/Teacher Meetings~**

"Ugh! Stupid tie!"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Dad, will you stop messing with it?"

Cloud looked up from where his fingers were currently being held captive by the most atrocious tie to ever have been created. "But it keeps coming loose," he whined with a pout.

Ven sighed and went to rescue their father's fingers from the deathtrap that was the tie. "Why are you wearing a suit anyway? Most of the parents are wearing casual clothing."

"I just wanted to make a good impression on your teachers," Cloud mumbled as he flexed his now free fingers.

Roxas quickly grabbed the tie from Ven's hand and tossed it into the backseat of their car. "You'd make a better impression without the suit. Take off your jacket." Cloud removed his jacket and it soon joined the tie in the backseat of the car. Ven cocked his head to the side and studied their father's appearance before undoing the top three buttons on his dress shirt and rolling up the sleeves to Cloud's elbows. Roxas gave him a quick once over and nodded in approval. "Much better. Let's get going before the rooms get too crowded."

The twins entered the school with Cloud trailing behind him. They stopped in at the office and signed in with the receptionist before making their way farther into the school. "You told me that you both have the same teachers, so who will I be meeting first?"

"We decided that we'd be following Ven's schedule. So first will be homeroom. You actually already know our homeroom teacher," Roxas said as they neared their first destination.

"Really? I wonder who-" Cloud was cut off as he was pulled into a bone cracking hug by Aerith.

"Cloud! My goodness! It's been a while since I've seen you. You've gotten so tall and," she squeezed his arm gently, "have you been working out?"

"A-Aerith?" Cloud gasped as he attempted to pull more air into his lungs. She let him go and gave a bright smile. Cloud grinned back at her. "It is you! I haven't seen you since graduation. How have things been?"

"Oh, I've been pretty well. Zack and I moved here after graduation and attended University together. He teaches here as well but is sick with the flu so couldn't make it tonight. We're actually engaged," she said while holding out her left hand so Cloud could see the engagement ring that sat on her finger. "Zack will be thrilled to see you again. We'll have to get together some time and catch up."

"Absolutely. Let me know when you two are free and we'll work something out. So, how are my boys doing?"

Aerith sent a smile at Roxas and Ven. "Oh, they're an absolute joy. Most of the time Roxas and Ven are either reading or studying, which is pretty much what homeroom is supposed to be used for. You've done a great job raising them, Cloud. Well, I think I've taken enough of your time for tonight. I'll call soon to let you know when Zack and I are free. Have a nice night, you three," Aerith gave Cloud a quick hug before sending them off with a cheery wave.

"I had no idea that Aerith lived here; it certainly was a pleasant surprise. So, where are we headed to next?"

Ven and Roxas gave each other a slightly worried look. "Er. . . next is History class with Mr. Xigbar," Ven said.

Cloud looked at his sons. "I get the feeling that something bad is about to happen. . ." A woman suddenly stormed out of the history classroom. She looked over her shoulder and glared daggers at the door before marching off with her daughter. Cloud looked at the door with apprehension and took a deep breath before opening the door and walking in with Roxas and Ven trailing in behind him.

There was another parent already sitting in front of Mr. Xigbar and they seemed to be arguing heatedly with each other. "This is absurd! You are completely unfit to be teaching my son! You're nothing but a crackpot!"

Mr. Xigbar snorted. "I personally don't give a shit what you think. When it comes down to it, I'm the one with the teaching degree, not you. If that's all, get the fuck out."

A vein bulged in the man's temple. "I demand-" he was cut off by the AK47 that Mr. Xigbar had shoved into his face.

"Listen here, you fucktard. This is _my_ class room and you're in no position to be demanding anything, got it? Now, unless you want to get more intimately acquainted with Shela," he ran a hand lovingly over the gun before returning his attention to the now pale man in front of him, "get your sorry ass out of my classroom." The startled parent grabbed his son and rushed out of the classroom before the scarred man could make good on his threat.

Cloud stared wide-eyed at the man who was supposedly teaching his sons history. Mr. Xigbar turned his attention from the door to Cloud and he grinned. "Well, hello Gorgeous," he growled as he gave Cloud a once over. Xigbar suddenly grabbed Cloud's hand and pulled the stunned man to him. "I must be in heaven if an angel like you is gracing my presence with his beauty."

Roxas and Ven stared in shock as their history teacher continued to use corny pick-up lines on their father while Cloud's left eye developed a twitch. Ven had a thoughtful expression on his face before he broke into a grin. He tapped Roxas on the shoulder to get his attention and quickly whispered his plan to his twin. Roxas gave him a disbelieving look. "You really think that'll work?"

Ven shrugged. "There's only one way to find out." They turned their attention back to an increasingly uncomfortable looking Cloud and their teacher.

"So, how about you and I ditch this lame ass function and go back to my place for a fu-" Xigbar was interrupted by a loud gasp from Ven.

"Oh my gosh! What the heck is that?" Ven shouted with a scared expression as he pointed out the window that was on the other side of the room. Xigbar let go of his hold on Cloud and grabbed his gun before turning toward where Ven was pointing. Roxas took this chance to grab their father's hand and the three rushed out of the room before Mr. Xigbar could realize that nothing was there.

Roxas pushed their father into the next classroom on their list before he and Ven rushed in after him and slammed the door shut. "Please tell me that the rest of your teachers aren't insane," Cloud said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Er. . . hello." The three turned to see an amused looking Leon.

Ven gave a nervous chuckle. "H-hi Mr. Leonheart. We . . . er. . . we're sort of hiding from-"

"Where are you, my sexy little Chocobo?" had stopped right outside of Mr. Leanheart's classroom. He looked around quickly before rushing off down the hall.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Chocobo?"

Cloud let out a chuckle. "I get that a lot because of the hair."

"I see. Well, if you're trying to avoid Xigbar, I can help you out with that." Leon poked his head out the door just as Xigbar was about to rush by again. "Hey, Xigbar. The principal wanted to see you about something."

"Damnit! What the fuck does she want now?"

Leon shrugged. "I have no idea but she looked ready to kill. You probably shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Right, looks like my sexy little blonde is going to have to wait. Damn you Lockhart!" Xigbar rushed down the hall in the direction of the office.

Leon chuckled as he returned his attention to the three other people occupying his room. "Well, that should keep him busy for a while. I can't say I blame him though; you're quite an attractive man, Mr. Strife." Cloud blushed at the compliment. "Anyway, I'm Squall Leonheart, but please, call me Leon. Besides that misunderstanding last week, Roxas and Ven are doing well in math. Their scores are above the class average and they are both very well behaved. You and your wife did a great job raising them."

Cloud cleared his throat. "I'm . . . er . . . not with anyone. I'm also not interested in women," he said quietly while looking anywhere but at Leon.

"Well then, perhaps we could have coffee sometime? That is, if Roxas and Ven don't mind and if you would like to?" Leon inquired while looking to the two teens for permission.

Ven and Roxas looked at each other for a moment. "We don't mind," they replied in tandem.

"Sure. I'd like that, Leon," Cloud said shyly.

Leon gave him a bright grin. "Great. I'm not trying to kick you out or anything but you might want to get on your way before Xigbar gets back." Cloud nodded before he, Roxas, and Ven got up and left the classroom.

"Where to next?" asked Cloud as the three started off down the hallway.

"Next is English with Mr. Deckler. Whatever you do, Dad, _don't_ agree to play a game of poker with him," Ven replied. Cloud blinked in confusion at the strange warning.

The three entered the English classroom and were greeted by Mr. Deckler. "Ello there. I'm Luxord Deckler, the English teacher. You must be Roxas and Ven's father. Your sons are doing well in class. We have our first writing assignment due on Friday and I'm quite eager to see what they came up with. Their drafts looked promising."

Cloud nodded happily. "I'm glad that they're doing well. Please, keep me informed on their progress."

Luxord flashed a grin. "I'll be sure to do so. It was nice meeting you Mr. Strife. Enjoy the rest of your evening," he said before ushering them out the door and greeting the next family.

"Well, he seemed pleasant enough," Cloud commented.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, he's a pretty good teacher. Next is Mr. Thornton. He's a bit . . . flamboyant."

Ven and Roxas led cloud out of the main building and into a smaller building behind the school, which turned out to be the Botany classroom/ greenhouse. They were greeted by a cheerful man with pink locks. "Hello there~! I'm Marluxia Thornton and welcome to the greenhouse. Ah, Roxas and Ven. Your plants are growing nicely." He flounced off and returned with two small planters containing flourishing chrysanthemums. "Yes, absolutely lovely. Be sure to water them tomorrow," he said brightly. He set the plants down gently before addressing Cloud. "You must be their father, Mr. Strife. It's a pleasure to meet you. Roxas and Ven seem to be doing well in Botany class. We have a test coming up on Monday so that will give a better idea of how they're fairing. As for now, there's not anything to be concerned about." Cloud smiled at Marluxia and shook the man's hand before his sons led him back up to the school's main building.

"You weren't kidding. He _was_ flamboyant," Cloud said with a chuckle as they entered the Science classroom.

"Welcome. I am professor Vexen. You must be Mr. Strife. Roxas and Ven are doing well so far. I would be worried if they weren't as this is only the second week of class. We'll be doing our first lab sometime next week and I'm hoping they will excel. Keep up the good work boys." Vexen hastened back to the front of the room to check on a few beakers that were sitting on his desk and recorded his findings in a notebook.

Cloud blinked in surprise before he and the twins left to go to the next room. "Well that was . . . short."

Ven chuckled a bit. "Yeah, Professor Vexen isn't very social. Anyway, next is P.E with Mr. Strongarm."

The three entered the gymnasium and were greeted by the burly P.E teacher. "Hello. I'm Lexaeus Strongarm, the P.E teacher. You must be Mr. Strife. Roxas and Ven aren't very athletic but they participate in class and I can tell they're trying their best. That's all I ask from my students. If they keep it up, they shouldn't have any problems getting an A in the class," he said quietly.

"That's good to hear. We're a healthy family and we exercise, but we don't exactly go jogging every day," Cloud said while he ran a hand through his unruly hair.

Lexaeus nodded. "I understand. Most people don't go jogging every day. It's good that your family lives healthily, in any case. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Strife. If there are any problems with Roxas and Ven, I'll be sure to let you know. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

The three left the gym and started on their way back to the parking lot. "Well, your teachers all seem fairly nice . . . except for Mr. Xigbar. He gives me the creeps."

Ven and Roxas laughed at Clouds look of horror at the thought of Mr. Xigbar. "Yeah, he's pretty unorthodox for a teacher," Roxas said.

"So I can see. Let's get going before he pops out of nowhere," Cloud said as he looked around nervously.

The three were about to go through the front doors of the school when a familiar silver-haired teen called out to they. "Hey! Roxas, Ven, wait! I want you to meet my dad." The two teens turned around to see Riku hurrying towards them.

Ven smiled at their newest friend. "Hey, Riku. So where's your d-"

"Cloud." Roxas and Ven looked up and tensed at the sight of the man who had said their father's name.

"Sephiroth," Cloud said shortly.

Riku looked puzzled. "You already know my dad?"

No one answered the teen's question. Cloud continued to stare at Sephiroth while the silver-haired man looked back with surprise. "It's been awhile, Cloud." Sephiroth's gaze shifted to Roxas and Ven. "Wow. Roxas and Ven sure have grown, huh?"

Cloud pulled his sons toward him protectively. "I don't want you coming anywhere near my sons, Sephiroth," he snarled before making to leave.

"But they're my sons too, Cloud."

**A/N: And that's it for this chapter. This hasn't been read over yet by my beta, but I'll make any corrections when they come to light. Here's my present to the readers:**

**Preview:**

"_Wait, Ven. Who's at your house?" Terra asked with suspicion._

_Ven's grip on the phone tightened as he grew increasingly nervous at the prospect of Terra's reaction. "Er . . . Vanitas. But it's not what you think!"_

"_Oh really, because I -think- that my boyfriend's been lying to me!" Terra shouted. "Whatever, Ventus. Give me a call when you decide to stop being a whore." _

_There was a click and then Ven heard nothing but the dial tone. He set the phone back onto its cradle before sitting heavily in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Heart wrenching sobs shook his body. He started slightly as a pair of arms wrapped around his body and he was brought into a warm embrace._

"_I'm sorry, Ven. So sorry. I never would have come here if I knew it would cause you problems," Vanitas murmured as he tried to calm the boy in his embrace._

"_Why?" Ven shouted as he shoved Vanitas away from him. "You –hate- Terra!"_

_Vanitas shook his head sadly. "I don't –hate- him. I just don't trust him . . . but he made you so happy so I ignored what I thought of him. I ruined everything by coming here. I'll . . . just go stay at Sora's."_

_The raven-haired teen turned to leave but was stopped when Ven grabbed his wrist. "Don't. You're already here and the damage has already been done. There's no point in you leaving. We can be miserable together," Ven said with a hint of a smile._

_Vanitas let out a bark of laughter. "You got it."_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So here is the next chapter. I already said this in the first chapter but I'll say it again: I own nothing but the plot. Big thanks to 'blood as soft as silk' and 'Vampress6' for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome and I hope you'll keep reading.**

"Roxas and Ven are only your sons through blood. You are _not_ their father. You gave up that privilege the night you left us," spat Cloud.

Riku threw his father a confused look. "I don't understand," he muttered.

Cloud looked at Riku and the anger in his eyes softened into a look of sorrow. "Did you not tell them, Sephiroth? Did you not tell your first born children about your mistress and your illegitimate children? Or were we meant to be a secret from everyone; a stain that marred your otherwise perfect existence?"

Riku stared at his father. "What haven't you told us? What's going on? What do you mean; Roxas and Ven are your sons?"

Sephiroth sighed. "Cloud and I . . . we used to be lovers. Roxas and Ven were fathered by me."

"But they're a year younger than me . . . and two years younger than Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. How?"

"Your mother was always at work. She never seemed to have time for me and I was lonely. That's when I met Cloud. The affair first started when Genova was pregnant with you, Riku. Cloud never knew I was married and I never planned to tell him. Cloud's family has a genetic mutation that allows for males to become pregnant. Neither of us knew that until he started getting sick. That's when we found out that he was pregnant with Roxas and Ven. This was one year after you were born. You remember all those trips I used to take? They weren't for business. I was going to see Cloud, Roxas, and Ven. Genova found out when you were eleven, Riku. She threatened to divorce me if I didn't stop seeing Cloud . . . so I did," Sephiroth recounted as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off an oncoming headache.

"So Roxas and Ven . . . they're our half-brothers. Why didn't you tell us?" Riku shouted.

Sephiroth sighed. "I didn't see any need to. The chances of you, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo ever meeting Roxas and Ven were minimal. Telling you wasn't a priority."

Riku stared at his father with a mixture of shock and disgust. "It wasn't a _priority_?" Riku turned his gaze to Roxas and Ven; his features taking on a hurt expression. "Did you two know? Did you know that we're . . ."

"Brothers?" Ven finished before shaking his head sadly. "No. All Sephiroth ever told us before he left was that he was married and that being with Cloud was a mistake . . . _we_ were mistakes."

Riku looked back to his dad. "How could you do something like this and still be able to live with yourself?"

Sephiroth sighed. "I didn't think that-"

"You're right, you didn't think," Cloud interrupted. "I got over you a long time ago and I'll be damned if I let you break my family a second time by letting you back in. Roxas, Ven, we're leaving."

"Bye, Riku," the twins murmured before they were ushered to the car by Cloud.

Sephiroth watched them go with a faint hint of sadness in his eyes before turning his attention toward Riku. "Son, I-"

"I don't want to talk to you right now," Riku said in a dull tone of voice before he turned his back on his father and went to wait by the car.

**~The Next Day~**

Roxas and Ven waved goodbye to Cloud before turning to make their way towards their friends who were milling about in front of the school's doors. Riku was the first to notice the twins and shot them a tentative smile. Ven gave him a bright grin in response and Riku visibly relaxed.

"Good morning my little snicker doodles~!" Demyx sang as he gave each of the blonde boys a hug.

Ven chuckled. "Morning Demyx. You seem cheerful."

"Oh, I am! My parents are going on a trip so I get to stay with Zexy for a week. It's like a super long sleep over!"

"I guess it sort of is," Roxas said with a thoughtful expression. "Anyway," he said before turning his attention to Riku, "I'm really sorry about how things happened last night." Axel slung an arm around Roxas' shoulders when he noticed Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo heading their way from the school's parking lot.

Kadaj raised an eyebrow at the display of possessiveness. "Relax, Red. I'm not into incest." Roxas gave a sigh of relief as he shrugged Axel's arm from his shoulders. He muttered a quick 'see you later' and hurried into the school building.

"Incest?" Axel asked, perplexed.

Kadaj rolled his eyes. "Apparently our dads were fuck buddies and Roxas and Ven are the product." This was met with a stunned silence by the rest of the group.

"How is that even possible?" Sora asked with surprise.

Kadaj shrugged. "Their dad has some kind of genetic mutation of something." He, Loz, and Yazoo then made their way past the group and into the school.

Sora had a thoughtful look on his face. "So that would make Roxas and Ven your brothers too, right Riku?" The silver-haired teen nodded just as the bell rang. Everyone dispersed; still attempting to digest this newest bit of information.

**~Ven's First Period~**

Ven took his usual seat by the window and lost himself in his thoughts during the brief time before Mr. Xigbar burst into the classroom.

"Sit down and shut your traps. Today we'll be continuing with the history of Destiny Islands. After Captain Xehonart was flogged to death by his subjects, the islands became a Democracy. This didn't last long as many of the people that were loyal to Xehonart started an uprising which led to the Great War. Some of the bastards that supported Xehonart were captured and tortured for information. Some forms and instruments of torture involved bone breaking, reverse hanging, the Malay or Spanish Boot, the Iron Maiden, and the Judas Cradle. My personal favorite is denailing which involves the slow and painful removal of finger and/or toenails," Mr. Xigbar finished with a grin before he dismissed the class.

Ven looked at his teacher in horror as he left the room. Surely this man was insane! Who has a favorite form of torture? More importantly, what in the world was the school thinking, hiring someone like him? He shuddered slightly and called out to Vanitas who was walking toward him from the other end of the hall.

Vanitas gave a small smile of acknowledgment and made his way over to Ven. "Hey. You look a bit pale, did something happen?"

Ven shook his head. "I just had class with Mr. Xigbar and-"

"Got it," Vanitas said, cutting Ven off mid-sentence. "So why isn't your boyfriend walking you to class?" he asked a bit more harshly than he had intended.

Ven looked at Vanitas with surprise at the bite in his tone. "Because I wanted to walk with you. Does it bother you that I like guys?"

Vanitas sighed. "The fact that you like guys doesn't bother me. I'd be a hypocrite if it did. It's that you like Terra of all people that bothers me."

"Why? Do you hate him or something?"

"I wouldn't say I hate him. I definitely don't like him though. We've had some issues in the past that make it pretty much impossible to get along with him," Vanitas said with a shrug. "I'm going to go on ahead; wouldn't want to get you in trouble for talking to me. See you later."

Ven made to follow him into Mr. Leonheart's classroom but an arm around his shoulders stopped him. "Hey, Babe," Terra greeted. "So why were you talking to Vanitas?"

Ven blushed. "Hi, Terra. Vanitas is a friend of mine. I thought that he was a jerk at first but-"

"I don't want you around him. He's bad news and you don't need to be associated with people like him. Promise me you'll stop hanging out with him."

Ven looked at Terra, surprised at the dislike for his raven-haired friend. His eyebrows furrowed. "Terra, I-"

"Great! I'm glad you understand," Terra said with a grin, assuming that Ven agreed with him. The two entered the classroom and Ven took his seat next to Terra with a sigh.

**~Lunch~**

Axel plopped down into the seat next to Roxas at their usual lunch table. "I'm so excited! Spirit week is next week!"

Demyx perked up at the news. "Seriously? This is awesome! So what kinds of days do they have lined up this year?"

Axel took out a colored flyer from his pocket and unfolded it on the table. "Monday is Opposite Day, Tuesday is Teacher Impersonation Day, Wednesday is Rocky Horror Costume Day, Thursday is Dress As Your Fear Day, and Friday is Class Day. Looks like this year is going to be pretty cool," he said with a grin.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do for those days?" Roxas asked.

"Well, for Spirit Week, we're supposed to dress according to what day it is. So on Monday, we dress the opposite of how we usually do. Tuesday, we dress like one of our teachers. Wednesday, we dress like a character from Rocky Horror Picture Show. Thursday, we dress as or wear something with our fear on it. Friday, we wear something that shows the school what year we're in. Axel goes all out for spirit week!"

"That sounds . . . interesting," Roxas said as he looked over the flyer. He gave the flyer back to Axel and noticed that Ven wasn't anywhere among the group. "Has anyone seen Ven?"

Vanitas swallowed the fry that he had been chewing before answering Roxas' question. "He's most likely sitting with Terra."

Roxas scanned the cafeteria and saw that his twin was indeed sitting with Terra and some of the brunet's friends. "That's odd. He always eats lunch with us," he commented with furrowed eyebrows.

"Terra is possessive. Add to that the fact that he doesn't like me and it's really no wonder that your brother wasn't allowed to sit with us," Vanitas said before throwing his trash out and leaving the cafeteria.

**~That Night At The Strife Residence~**

Roxas stifled a yawn as he closed his math book. "Almost done, Ven?"

"Almost. I just have to finish up a few more sentences for that English report that's due tomorrow," Ven replied without taking his eyes from the paper.

Roxas hummed. "Alright. Don't stay up too late, ok?" After getting an affirmation from his brother, Roxas made his way upstairs and into bed.

Ten minutes later found Ven putting away his completed essay. He had barely made it to the second step of the stairs when there was a knock at the door. His eyebrows furrowed as he went to the door and looked through the peephole. His eyes widened slightly and he opened the door to reveal a sheepish looking Vanitas.

"Hi. Sorry for bothering you so late but my mom has some friends over so she doesn't want me at home. I was hoping to crash here for the night. I guess I could have gone to Sora's but I don't want him to worry incessantly." Ven pursed his lips but opened the door and allowed the raven haired teen into his home. "Thanks, Ven. I-"

Vanitas was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone. Ven ran into the dark kitchen and snatched the phone from its cradle before the ringing could wake his brother. "Hello? Strife residence; this is Ven speaking."

"_Hey, Babe. Sorry for calling so late; I just wanted to see if I could catch you before you went to bed so I could say goodnight_."

Vanitas chose that moment to stumble into the dark kitchen and stub his foot on the table. "Damnit!"

"_Wait, Ven. Who's at your house?_" Terra asked with suspicion.

Ven's grip on the phone tightened as he grew increasingly nervous at the prospect of Terra's reaction. "Er . . . Vanitas. But it's not what you think!"

"_Oh really, because I -think- that my boyfriend's been lying to me!_" Terra shouted. "_Whatever, Ventus. Give me a call when you decide to stop being a whore._"

There was a click and then Ven heard nothing but the dial tone. He set the phone back onto its cradle before sitting heavily in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Heart wrenching sobs shook his body. He started slightly as a pair of arms wrapped around his body and he was brought into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry, Ven. So sorry. I never would have come here if I knew it would cause you problems," Vanitas murmured as he tried to calm the boy in his embrace.

"Why?" Ven shouted as he shoved Vanitas away from him. "You _hate _Terra!"

Vanitas shook his head sadly. "I don't _hate _him. I just don't trust him . . . but he made you so happy so I ignored what I thought of him. I ruined everything by coming here. I'll . . . just go stay at Sora's."

The raven-haired teen turned to leave but was stopped when Ven grabbed his wrist. "Don't. You're already here and the damage has already been done. There's no point in you leaving. We can be miserable together," Ven said with a hint of a smile.

Vanitas let out a bark of laughter. "You got it."

The two made their way back into the living room and seated themselves on the couch. Ven unfolded the blanket that was draped over the sofa's arm and covered both himself and Vanitas with it.

"Vanitas?"

"Hm?"

Ven played nervously with the blanket for a moment before looking into the amber eyes of his friend. "What did you mean when you said that you don't trust Terra?"

Vanitas tensed at the question and let out a deep sigh. "Terra and I used to be friends in elementary school. There was this girl that he liked but she wasn't interested in him. Instead, she wanted to be _my_ friend, not Terra's. He's always held a grudge towards me for that. Since then, he's done everything in his power to take everything from me that I desire and flaunt it in my face. Despite that, I still can't find it in myself to hate him. I don't trust Terra because he went after you. I thought that he may have gone after you for no other purpose than to keep you away from me. I hope to God I'm wrong because you deserve to be treated so much better than that. I didn't say anything to you about this because I wasn't sure if you'd believe me and I could see how happy he made you."

Ven looked at him, puzzled. "So what would him asking me out have anything to do with his dislike of you?"

"You really don't get it, do you?" Vanitas asked with a humorless chuckle. He cradled Ven's face in his hands. "Terra goes after _everything_ I desire." He kept his eyes locked with the blondes as he slowly inched his face closer. "Everything. . ." Their lips touched in the briefest and gentlest of kisses before Vanitas pulled back. "Do you understand now? I desire _you_, Ven. I desire you."

Ven was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. "You know, Vanitas, I'm starting to think that maybe I don't like Terra half as much as I thought I did," he said shyly.

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why do you think that?"

"Because I just realized that I . . . _desired_ someone else," Ven said coyly as he took Vanitas' hand in his own.

Vanitas' surprised look slowly morphed into a soft smile that he directed at the blonde. "Do you? He must be one lucky guy," Vanitas murmured before pulling Ven close to his side. "Go to sleep, Ven."

Ven closed his eyes and snuggled further into Vanitas' embrace. "Vanitas?"

"Hm?"

"Can I call you Vani for short?"

Vanitas placed a soft kiss on Ven's head. "Sure." Then the two drifted off into a dreamless sleep, completely oblivious to the rest of the world around them.

**A/N: And there you have it. Next chapter will be Spirit Week and Axel's gonna go all out. 'Till then~!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I live! I know this is super late and I'm sorry! I was hit with horrible writer's block and had no idea how to start this chapter. I finally sat myself down and made myself write this. Big thanks and apologies to 'memwwms' who reviewed the last chapter. Please leave a review with your thoughts or ideas on what should happen next. Enjoy.**

_Roxas stared at the scene that was playing out before him. Axel had his twin brother backed against the tiled wall of the men's restroom as he explored Ven's mouth with his own. The red-head's left hand inched its way up the blonde's shirt and Ven's eyes fluttered open; locking onto Roxas. He pulled away with a smirk on his face and Axel started trailing soft kisses along the blonde's neck. "Hello, Roxas. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be."_

_Axel stopped his ministrations and turned to Roxas. "Do you mind? We were in the middle of something."_

"_How could you?" Roxas asked as he clenched his fists in an attempt to keep his emotions in check._

_Axel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How could I what? Ask your brother out? True, you act nothing alike, but you look the same and that's all that matters," he said with a shrug._

"_V-Ven?" Roxas whimpered._

"_I told you, Roxas. You never listened and now you're too late. Axel's mine now."_

"_You knew I liked him! Why?!" Roxas yelled as his bottom lip trembled._

"_Aw, are you going to cry Roxas?" Ven asked mockingly._

_Axel gave Roxas a once over. "I can't believe I ever liked someone as pathetic as you." He pulled Ven into an embrace. "Who would ever love you when they could have someone like Ven?" he asked, gazing adoringly into Ven's eyes._

Roxas jerked awake. _ Just a dream._ He ran a shaky hand through his hair, making it even messier than it usually was. There was a knock on his door and Ven poked his head into the room.

"Hey, time to get ready for school. What are you wearing for opposite day?"

Roxas shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not all that into the whole 'Spirit Week' thing."

Ven stepped into his brother's room. "Oh come on, Rox. It'll be fun! I know, let's go dressed in each other's clothes! I can borrow a pair of your skinny jeans and one of your band T-shirts and you can go in a pair of my cargo pants and a polo shirt," he said happily as he rifled through Roxas' closet.

"Ok," Roxas mumbled.

Ven turned away from the closet and gave Roxas a worried look. "Hey, are you alright?"

"It was just a bad dream. I'm fine," Roxas got up from his bed and plastered a smile on his face. "So about those clothes. . ."

**~At School~**

"Morning."

Demyx looked up from the scrap of notebook paper he was doodling on and blew a strand of hair away from his face. For opposite day he had decided not to do his hair in its traditional mullhawked style; letting it fall naturally instead. "Aw. You guys didn't do anything for opposite day."

Ven grinned. "That's not completely true."

"You two switched clothes!" Demyx exclaimed with a grin of his own as he flicked the annoying bit of hair from his vision again, only to have it fall back into his face.

"Yeah. I wonder if anyone will be able to tell the difference," Roxas mused.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough. Here come some of the others," Demyx said as he pointed towards the school's parking lot.

The first person they noticed was Vanitas who was making his way towards them with a smirk. To everyone's surprise, he latched himself onto Ven after giving everyone a perky 'good morning'.

"Er . . . you feeling alright there Vanitas?" Demyx asked with a puzzled expression.

"Absolutely fine. How are you this morning Ven?" he asked the still surprised blonde in his arms.

"I'm fine. . . I think. How'd you know I was Ven and not Roxas and why are you acting all weird?" Ven replied, trying to wriggle out of the raven haired boy's grasp.

Vanitas released him without complaint. "You two might have switched clothes but it's still easy enough to tell you apart by your personalities and your overall demeanor. As for why I'm freakishly happy, Sora said for opposite day I should act the opposite of how I usually do. In other words, like him." He gave a feral grin.

"I don't like that look. . ." Ven said with apprehension.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll all thank me later for this," Vanitas said pointing back towards the parking lot.

Sora was making his way towards them . . . with duct tape over his mouth.

Everyone threw Vanitas puzzled looks before Roxas spoke up. "Why is there duct tape over his mouth?"

"Sora talks all the time so for opposite day, he has to go without making a sound," Vanitas said with a triumphant air about him.

Demyx looked at him in awe. "Brilliant. Evil, yes, but brilliant."

Sora shot his cousin a glare when he made it to the group. He pulled out a notebook and quickly scribbled something in it before showing it to Vanitas.

_**Do I really have to wear the tape?**_

Vanitas took in Sora's now pleading look and shook his head. "I suppose you can take it off. Just remember not to make a sound."

Sora's expression brightened and he carefully removed the tape from his mouth.

Demyx smiled. "So what are you doing for opposite day, Vanitas?"

The raven haired teen's eye twitched but he kept a grin on his face. "I have to act like Sora. I'm meant to be perky for the entire day." He suddenly grabbed the front of Ven's shirt. "Do you have any idea how much sugar I've had this morning?!"

Sometime during Vanitas' sugar induced freak out Zexion showed up. "Good morning," he said softly.

Demyx immediately latched himself onto the shorter teen. "Zexy~!" He pulled away and pouted. "Aw. You're not doing anything for opposite day."

The slate haired boy sighed. "I already told you, Demyx. I have no interest in partaking in Spirit Week. I'm sure that whatever ridiculous things that Axel comes up with will more than make up for me not participating in Spirit Week."

"Speaking of, where is Axel?" asked Roxas. "Or Riku for that matter," he added as an afterthought.

Vanitas snickered. "I don't know about Fire Crotch but Pretty Boy's here," he said while pointing towards the parking lot.

The silveret was indeed making his way towards the group from the parking lot. There was a scowl marring his face when he reached everyone else.

Vanitas went to say something and Riku turned a glare on him. "Not a word, Vanitas."

Vanitas wisely snapped his jaw shut but a cocky smirk still remained on his face.

Ven gave the silver haired boy a curious look. "Um, Riku? Why are you wearing a dress?"

"Sora dared me to dress as a girl for opposite day," he mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off an oncoming headache.

"You are so whipped," Vanitas said, smirk still plastered on his face. "So, Demyx, do you know what Axel's doing for Opposite Day?"

Demyx grinned brightly. "Yeah, I actually helped him out with that."

**~Flashback to Sunday Night with Axel and Demyx~**

"So, care to explain why you needed all of this, Axel?" Demyx asked as he handed the red-head a trash bag of clothes.

Axel rifled through the bag and grinned at his mullhawked friend. "Well, tomorrow is Opposite Day and this is what I'm going to wear. Where did you get this anyway?"

"My mom bought all this and actually expected me to wear it. I'm lucky that everything was too big for me. It should fit you just fine though."

"Well, we should probably get to bed. We'll be getting up early to get ready for school," Axel said with a yawn. "Night Demyx."

"Night, Ax."

Demyx clicked off the lamp that sat on his bedside table and was quickly lulled to sleep by his best friend's soft snores.

**~Back to present~**

"You'll have to wait and see," Demyx said.

"Well, your wait is over! I have arrived!" The group turned around to see the very red-head that they had been talking about.

"Dear God, the world's gone mad," Zexion muttered.

Axel stood in front of them in a long sleeved shirt covered by a sweater vest, a pair of khaki dress pants, and black loafers. A pair of reading glasses was perched delicately on his nose and his usually wild spikes were pulled back into a low pony tail. He grinned and he slung an arm around a shocked Roxas. "Like what you see, Babe?"

Roxas clenched his jaw and shrugged Axel's arm off his shoulders but made no comment about the red-head's appearance. Axel continued to grin at the blonde until he saw the form of Terra making his way over towards them and frowned at the brunet.

Terra took a puzzled Roxas by the hand when he got to the group. "Hey, Ven. I'm sorry about what I said during that phone call. I was out of line. I love you. Will you forgive me?"

Ven glared at the brunet from his place besides Vanitas. "Apology not accepted. First off, you were a complete ass and an apology isn't going to make me forgive you that easily. Second, that's my brother, Roxas. If you can't even tell us apart and you supposedly 'love' me, then you're not worth my time."

Terra looked between Ven and Vanitas with a scowl. "It was an honest mistake. You two are exactly alike. Are you seriously going to be a bitch over something so stupid? Whatever, you're not that great anyway." The brunet boy stormed off towards his group of friends.

Axel looked at Roxas with a gentle expression. "You okay? You seemed a bit startled."

Roxas nodded, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Axel? How did you know I wasn't Ven when you got here?" He turned his attention to Vanitas. "How did you tell us apart?"

Axel blinked at Roxas and broke into a smile. "Well, you and Ven might look a lot alike but you're not exactly the same. Your eyes are a tiny bit darker than Ven's; it's hardly even noticeable but it's still a difference. Your personalities are also a lot different. You're more reserved while Ven has a brighter aura. You also hold yourselves differently."

Vanitas nodded. "Ven usually has his hands clasped in front of him or hanging at his sides."

"And you usually have your arms crossed in front of your chest or your hands shoved in your pockets, Roxy," Axel said with a bright smile.

Roxas looked at the red-head in wonder at the differences he had noticed between himself and his twin before breaking into a bright smile.

Axel's breath caught in his lungs at the brilliant smile that graced Roxas' face. This beautiful blonde boy would surely be the death of him and strangely, he didn't seem to mind that at all.

**A/N: I am by no means giving up this story but updates will be a bit slow until midterms are over. Please, please, please leave a review. They let me know that I'm writing for someone other than myself. On a side note, the first chapter of my new story (a gift fic) will be out on Halloween. Keep an eye out for it. I know I said I wouldn't be writing more than one fic at a time but it'll give me something to do when I get stuck on this story.**


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